Cross the Heartland
by justplainrii
Summary: AU: The year is 1938.  When financial troubles force Kairi to return to the city she came from, Sora hitches a ride with Donald and Goofy, who are looking for their boss, and tries to find her as he travels with them.  But will Riku find her first?
1. Destine, Iowa

Chapter 1

"Sora... Sora...! Sora! Get up, you lazy bum!"

At the sound of Kairi's voice, Sora jerked up in an unexpected motion, and immediately fell out of the tree, landing flat on his back in a very uncomfortable way. Wincing, he rubbed the back of his head and sat up.

"Owww! Ow-ow-ow-ow!" he said, scowling. "Wha'dye do that for?"

"Silly, you were taking a nap," Kairi's voice replied, sounding from somewhere over his head. "I told you to go climb the tree an' get some apples, not sleep in it!"

"I was gonna get 'em," Sora said defensively, turning around to see his friend standing next to the tree, a satisfied grin on her face. "I just wanted to take a little nap b'fore, is all."

Kairi began to laugh. "I doubt that, Sora. Come on, I'll forgive you if you get them now."

The girl was one that Sora had known for more than half of his young life; she had arrived out of practically nowhere 9 years earlier, when was just 5 years old, adopted by a childless couple in town. The arrival of the girl with the big, dusky eyes was quite a story in the town, and it wasn't long before Sora himself got to meet her.

Immediately, he began to develop a warm friendship with her, and it would be hard for him not to smile when he saw her auburn head coming his way after school. Even in this situation, where his neck was nagging him with pain, he was finding it difficult to put on a cross expression, but he managed. He contorted his face into an expression of pain and annoyance, and brought himself upright. "I really was gonna get 'em," he said.

"Of course you were," Kairi replied, putting her hands on her hips as Sora took a cat-like leap at the tree, clinging to its trunk. "Come on, we'll be able t'get more if we put 'em in my skirt."

"You shouldn't do that!" Sora said, looking down. "It's not... it's not proper!"

"Well, why?" Kairi said, giggling. "It's not like you're gonna get a look at my bloomers or anything."

Sora found himself turning bright red, and scurried up the tree a little more. "Just be sure to catch 'em!" he announced, reaching for an apple and dropping it to her. Kairi caught it effortlessly in the fabric of her lilac-colored skirt, and looked up to see where Sora was heading next. However, a rather well-thrown stick caught him by surprise, and he fell out of the tree once more.

"No need to be using poor little Kairi's skirt like that," a cool voice said, as somebody neared the tree. Kairi took the apple out of her skirt and smiled when she saw who it was.

"Riku!" she said, waving at him. "What're you doing here?"

Sora looked and saw his other closest friend: Riku. Riku was a year older than him and Kairi, but that didn't matter, in terms of whether or not he would play with them. An exotic-looking boy, with ashy hair and sky-blue eyes, he was as close to Kairi as Sora was, and in recent years, they were beginning to become rivals of a sort for her attention (despite the fact that she herself was somewhat oblivious to the fact).

"Heard you were gettin' some apples," he said, brandishing a woven basket he was holding. "Wouldn't trust Sora with that sort of work, so I went to go get a basket from my mother."

"Hey!" Sora retorted, regaining his balance. "I get apples just fine!"

"Really, Rip Van Winkle?" Riku replied. "I just knew you'd be takin' a nap. You're really like a cat; you do nothin' but sleep and eat."

"Am not!" Sora replied, reaching for a branch to pull himself up on as Kairi began to laugh. "Gimme that basket, there."

"Why should I?" Riku laughed. "Kairi can have it; you keep gettin' those apples, like you were supposs't."

"Riku, stop bein' so mean," Kairi admonished, taking the basket from him. "Sora, I'll catch 'em when you throw 'em to me."

"Naw, make Riku do it," Sora said, climbing the tree and lounging among the higher branches. "I don't feel like it anymore."

"Sora!" Kairi said, laughing in spite of herself.

"Get down from there!" Riku called. "I'll get you myself, y'know!"

"Oh, forget about it," Kairi said, fingering the apple in her hands as she turned to leave. "I'm headin' back home."

Sora was out of the tree in an instant, brushing off his overalls and picking a stray leaf or two out of his brown hair. "Great! Let's go get somethin' at the general store, too!" he said energetically. "I want some candy."

"Sora, you are indescribable," Riku sighed, as Kairi began to laugh again.

"I don't care!" Sora laughed. "Race y'back to town, Riku."

"You bet!" Riku chuckled, and the two boys stopped in their tracks, waiting for some sort of signal. Kairi realized she wasn't being followed anymore, and turned around.

"All right, you want me to start you?" she said, placing the apple in Riku's basket. "On your mark, get set... go!"

The boys began running as fast as they could back to the small town at the base of the hill, with Kairi close behind. Out of breath by the time they reached the paved road, they took a rest outside the drug store, Kairi laughing at their escapades.

"Don't overexert yourselves, you two," she chided, taking the apple out of the basket again and shining it on her skirt. "Now... I wonder who won?"

"Y'mean there's a prize?" Sora said, his eyes lighting up. "What is it, what?"

"It's the apple, y'dunce," Riku said, as sharply as one could when out of breath. "B'sides, anyone can see that I won."

"Noo, I did!" Sora retorted. The two began a rather silly fight, until Kairi took a bite of the apple herself, and they fell silent.

"I don't think either of you win at bein' best-dressed," she laughed, and continued down the street.

"Ow, she had us beat," Sora said bashfully.

"That wasn't fair," Riku added, finding himself smiling.

"Come on, you two; are y'coming to the general store or not?" she called after them, and the trio was soon caught up again.

-///-

Considering the troubles of other cities, the small town of Destine, Iowa, where the children lived, was faring relatively well. It was true that the drought was absolutely devastating to the nearby farmers, and the low market prices of goods were causing trouble for store-owners, but life managed to go on.

Happiness was simply and easily found through the radio and movie theatre, and in small pleasures such as kite-flying, an easy hobby with the seemingly endless sea of prairie that surrounded the town, and the untamed wind that accompanied it. Sora, Riku, and Kairi rarely found themselves bored, or complaining about their situation, despite the fact that Riku was the only one whose family was not under the stress of monetary troubles; he had a rich aunt in the eastern states that helped keep his family supported, but was otherwise distant. Sora and Kairi's families weren't as lucky, but they managed all the same.

At any rate, none of the children were preoccupied with such troubles; sweet sticks of penny candy hung out of their mouths as they exited the general store together.

"I just love candy..." Sora said, in absolute bliss, allowing the flavor to spread around his tongue.

"Simpleton," Riku commented, thoughtfully licking his stick of candy and waving it around in the air.

Kairi sighed, as the two began to bicker again. "Will you two ever stop arguing?" she asked.

"Ah, tha's impossible! They're rivals, worse'n the Cappies an' the Monties!" an energetic voice from nearby called, and the two stopped fighting to see a cluster of their friends from school waving at them from down the road.

"Ah! Hello, Tidus!" Sora said, waving at the sandy-haired boy, who seemed to be dragging a wooden pole behind him. Tidus, along with Selphie and Wakka, stood and waited for Sora and his friends to reach them, before resuming conversation.

"Cappies an' Monties?" Riku said confusedly, his eyebrow perched low on his forehead in skepticism. "Y'mean Capulets an' Montagues?"

"Yeah! Tha's right. I'm readin' that book, _Romeo an' Juliet_, cos I heard there may've been a picture show made of it," Tidus replied, propping his hands on the pole. "I wanna see some sword-fights, those look exciting."

"I think it's romantic," Selphie added, twirling her jump rope in her hand, "but it's so sad! They never get t'be together!"

"I think I read that once; it _is_ very sad," Kairi agreed, clasping her hands behind her back in a familiar gesture as she grasped her uneaten stick of candy. Wakka looked at her with his soulful brown eyes, as if he noticed a ladybird had flown into her hair.

"Well, what're you three doin' out here?" Riku asked them.

"We're gonna go see the picture show," Wakka explained, taking his eyes off Kairi to address him. "Saved up some money, y'see. Wanna come?"

"No, thank you," said Kairi, a mildly absent tone in her voice. "I think I might go to the tree again."

"But we were just there! Whaddya wanna do that for?" Sora asked, his face filled with a sort of amusing worry, and she found herself laughing.

"I just wanna enjoy the sights, is all," she replied. "If you wanna, come on an' join me. I'm not goin' anywhere else."

"That sounds pretty nice," said Tidus thoughtfully. "But I'm more excited for Woody's Roundup tonight!"

"Oh, wouldn't you believe it!" Sora agreed, pumping his fists into the air with excitement. "That was such a cliffhanger last night, I mean, _really!_"

"Leavin' Sheriff Woody over a real cliff!" the boys said at the same time, and proceeded to laugh together with childish playfulness.

"Grow up, you two," Riku scorned. "I don't like Woody's Roundup; that's a kid's show."

"I don't care!" Sora replied. "You listen to it too, right Kairi?"

However, the girl had already begun down the road, leaving Riku and Sora standing there in mild shock.

"Why'd she leave all of a sudden?" Tidus asked, somewhat surprised, himself.

"Somethin' the matter with her?" Selphie added.

Sora shrugged. "Now, that's just odd," he said, scratching the back of his head, his candy once again perched in his mouth. "She was fine this mornin'."

"Maybe y'did somethin' to hurt her feelings, y'dunce," Riku said sharply. "We should go talk to her."

"Hmhm," Sora said, nodding. "We'll see you all later."

"Goodbye, you two!" Selphie said, waving as they began down the road to where Kairi was headed.

"Now it may be just me, but she looks kinda sad," Wakka observed as they faded off into the distance. " 'wunner what's wrong with'er?"

In a simultaneous shrug, Selphie and Tidus signaled their unknowingness.

-///-

Kairi stopped beneath the large apple tree, and sat down to look at the seas of grass that surrounded the town, illuminated a pale gold by the late afternoon sun, and was alone for a short while before Riku and Sora caught up with her.

"Something the matter, Kairi? Why'd y'go off like that?" Sora asked her.

"Oh, it's nothin'," she replied, not looking at either of them. "I'm just enjoyin' the sights."

"You can look at the sights any day," Riku said, chuckling a little. "Why now? Y'bored?"

She shook her head. "No, just... thoughtful, I guess. I never really noticed how pretty the wind is against the grass."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Sora said, and took a seat beside her. Riku sighed, and leaned against the tree to join in.

"Y'ever wonder what sorts of things're happening out in the world?" Kairi asked. "In the newsreels an' things, we hear about all the troubles in the cities, an' all the dances and art there too."

"Gosh, I don' really know, m'self," Sora said, shifting his legs into a more comfortable position. "You came from the city, right, Kairi?" She nodded. "Y'remember much 'bout it?"

"No, nothin', really," she replied. "The orphanage isn't very strong in my mind. Makes me wonder what it was like, though."

"Me too. I'd love to go to the cities when I'm older," Riku stated. "See all the big businesses, an' those tall buildings! Wouldn't that be something!"

"Sure would!" Sora said. "What would you like to see, Kairi?"

Kairi thought for a good while before answering. "The parks an' things, I think. They must be awful pretty in the springtime."

"Yeah..." the three of them agreed, sighing in contentment together.

They sat there, watching the sun travel further down into the sky; since nobody had anything to say, it didn't make much sense to ask, so they just watched the wind on the grass, until Riku's watch indicated it was time for him to go to dinner.

"You gonna go home too, Kairi?" Sora asked, getting up with him to set out for his own home. Kairi shook her head.

"No, I'm stayin'. I'm not very hungry," she replied. "Don't worry, I'll be fine; I'll head home when I'm ready."

Slightly worried, the boys each went home for dinner, thinking about the well-being of their friend. Sora finished his dinner quickly, and started out for the tree again, to find that she hadn't changed her position. The sun was beginning to set, casting deep gold shadows over Kairi's face.

"Still haven't gone home?" he said, trying to sound as cheery as possible, despite his worried mood.

"No. I'm tryin' to remember what this place looks like, when I leave," she said quietly.

"When you leave? When're you leavin'? Where?" Sora said, becoming slightly panicked. "When did this happen?"

"Just forget about it, I'm not goin' anywhere," she said gently. "You came all the way up here just to see if I was okay? That's sweet of you."

She began to walk away, when Sora grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

"Listen, Kairi... what's th'matter? You don' seem like yourself," he said softly.

"It's nothin', I'm fine. G'night, Sora," she said, and began to walk away.

She didn't even turn to look at him.

-///-

Later that night, Sora lay in his bed, unable to sleep, when he heard the rumble of an engine coming down the road, and it caused him to jerk up and look out the window.

Hardly anyone drove at night, much less to Destine; what was going on? Stealthily, he put a pair of overalls over his nightshirt and crept out the back door, not bothering to put his shoes on. As the car went along the road, he gasped with horror when he saw where it stopped.

Kairi's house.

Immediately, Sora began to run.

Riku lived only a short distance away from him, and they often would sneak out together with Kairi and play games out by the tree. But this time, Sora rapped on his window in urgency, absolutely scared. Riku's pale face came into view, and he opened the window.

"Sora, what're you doin'?" he asked, rubbing his eyes; he had obviously just been woken up.

"It's Kairi! There's some sorta car out'n front of her house!" Sora reported, his voice a crazed whisper. "I think they're gonna take her away, Riku!"

"Take her away? Who'd take her away?" Riku replied, beginning to feel very worried.

"I dunno... but I went to see her at the tree this evening, and she said she was gonna go somewhere..." Sora said, and was quiet for a small while. "Riku, we gotta help her!"

"How?" Riku shot back. "What're we gonna do?"

"We gotta run over an' get her!" Sora replied. "C'mon, climb out an' help me!"

Though they were quite lacking a plan, Riku slipped himself out the window and ran with Sora to Kairi's house, where soft, unrecognizable words were being spoken between her, her adopted parents, and some fierce-looking men in black suits.

"What're they doin'?" Sora asked, and Riku shushed him. "Riku, they're gonna take her away!" he continued, in a horrified whisper.

"I know!" Riku said. "We can't do anythin' about it, Sora; those guys look like they're from th'government or somethin'!"

"Government? Why would the government want Kairi?" Sora replied. "We can take 'em down!"

The men began to get up, and took Kairi by the hand; her mother began to cry softly, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Now's our chance! We can take 'em out when they're bringin' her to the car!" Sora said, and began to run.

"Wait, Sora, no!" Riku called, but it was too late. As the men opened the door, Sora lobbed himself in their direction, but was met with resistance. One of the men wrapped his arms around Sora's, keeping him disabled.

"No! You can't do this! You can't take Kairi!" he raged, kicking and flailing his arms around. "Kairi!"

"Sora, don't do this! You'll get in trouble!" Kairi called, but was stopped as the men ushered her into the car.

Riku, seeing Sora was in danger, ran to his aid, and attempted to punch his way forward, but was stopped in a similar fashion. "I'm so sorry, I promise I'll write!" Kairi called, looking out the windows at them. "Don' forget about me, don' ever!"

The men let go of Sora and Riku, entering the car themselves, and beginning to drive off. In vain, Sora tried to run after it, but stopped as he reached the limits of the town, sitting down on the dusty road, silent with shock and grief.

Her adopted parents could no longer care for her, and had sent her back to the city, where she was to get a job in a factory, they later learned.

And with that occurrence, their very world was shattered.

-///-

The next morning, at the tree, Riku still wasn't taking the news well at all.

"That's jus' not fair!" he said, waving his arms in the air. "Why didn't she tell us?"

"She said she didn't want us gettin' in trouble, I think," Sora said, attempting to stay calm. "I think it's unfair that they've taken her away. I mean..." He trailed off, unable to think of anything relevant to say.

"Well, this is jus' wonderful, eh?" Riku said bitterly, flopping against the rough bark of the tree. "We'll never get t'see her again, won't we?"

"Well, she said she'd write," Sora said, a hint of optimism in his voice.

The two boys were silent for a good long while, the combination of outrage and sadness simmering rather uncomfortably between them. Then, Sora spoke, with sudden urgency.

"We gotta get her back," he said.

"What?" Riku said, very surprised indeed.

"We gotta get her back, that's what we gotta do!" Sora repeated, a slight smile on his face. "I'll... I'll hitch a ride out east, an' I'll find her an' bring her back home!"

"You're nuts! You're just nuts!" Riku said, absolutely objected to the idea. "Tha's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say!"

"Well, I could do it!" Sora said obstinately. "I could get some stuff in a hankie, and tie it on a stick and ask for a ride."

"Nobody in their right mind would give a kid a ride," Riku replied hotly, when his voice faded off as he himself got an idea. "Say... maybe I could send a letter to my aunt, an' she could come get us!"

"What, now you're sidin' with me?" Sora said, very confused. "I thought you said lookin' for her was foolish!"

"I said hitchin' a ride was foolish," Riku replied, his own plan looking very good in his mind. "My aunt's got autos, she could come an' get me! Plus she's got partners in all sortsa places, an' she could find Kairi too! I bet she could!"

"You're even crazier'n me!" Sora said, practically shouting. "You're her nephew, you should know more about your aunt'n me! She's the most heartless person I know, an' I've only met 'er once!"

"Don' go sayin' things about my family!" Riku shot back, his voice full of rage. Sora was silent for a while; this was definitely not how Riku normally acted, and it was, needless to say, very bizarre.

"Riku, whassa matter with you?" he asked. "You're not usually this angry about things..."

"Stay away from me. You insult my family an' say my plans're dumb. I'm gonna get Kairi back, I know it!" he said, pointing at Sora.

"Riku, wha's-" Sora began, but was met by another angry jab of the finger; Riku didn't want to hear anymore. "Well, fine! I'm gonna hitch a ride, first thing tomorrow! An' you're not gonna do a thing about it!"

The two boys stood there for a while, before Riku spoke.

"Well, aren'cha gonna leave? I told you t'get away from me!" he said.

"You leave! I'm not movin'. Dontchu have a letter to write to your precious 'Aunt Liffy,' anyways?" Sora said nastily, and Riku turned red with rage and stomped away, leaving him alone.

When Riku was out of earshot, Sora slumped down against the tree to think things over. After all, they had had a very violent row, which was very uncustomary of either of them, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. What in the world was wrong with Riku?

He supposed it was Kairi leaving so suddenly, but even that wouldn't upset Riku that much...

It was then, in the middle of this thinking, that he saw something carved into the bark of the tree, that he had nearly forgotten about.

Sora and Kairi's names were carved there in the wood, with Riku's above them; they had put them there when they were 8, and Riku had borrowed one of his father's knives. The tree had grown considerably, but the names were still there, as clear as the day they were carved. Sora nearly felt like crying, and took his own penknife, and began carving something new into the wood himself.

He added a small but visible "+" on the tree, between his name and Kairi's. Sniffing in anger, and nearly to the point of tears, he tossed his knife to the ground, prepared to walk away.

But when the knife hit the ground, it made not the thud of metal hitting earth, but the clink of metal hitting metal. Curious, Sora turned around and knelt down where his knife had landed, to see something shiny and silver sticking out of the ground. Once he had retrieved his knife and placed it back in his pocket, he began to tug; the thing came out fairly easily, and he brushed off the dry, crumbly soil to find a silver key in his hand.

"What's this?" he asked himself, turning it over in his hands; it was rather large, about the size of a pencil, and rather heavy. He noticed a small design carved into the handle of the key, and realized something.

"This's got the same design as Kairi's locket!" he softly said to himself, remembering the necklace that Kairi owned; she had been wearing it since she arrived as a child, and never took it off. "I better give this back to her if I see her," he said, but then stopped himself, and shook his head. "No," he said, attempting, in a way, to encourage himself, "_when_ I see her. Yeah, tha's it."

Carefully, he pocketed the thing, before heading on his way home.

-///-

That night, both boys were busy at their own pursuit of Kairi's retrieval; Sora hastily putting things in a blanket for his knapsack, Riku feverishly writing the letter to his aunt, each of them equally determined to succeed in their goal.

The next morning, Sora had already begun down the main road out, and was gone from Destine, Iowa, not to return for a very, very long time.


	2. Traversa, Illinois

Chapter 2

Sora woke up against a billboard advertising Pluto's Family Diner, which was several miles down the road, and wondered where he was.

It wasn't long before he remembered; he was walking east, waiting to hitch a ride on a benevolent stranger's car, to find Kairi and bring her home. So far, three days into his journey, he wasn't very successful.

He had some food left, in the form of about a quarter of a loaf of bread, a small hunk of hard cheese, a bottle of water about three-quarters filled, and an extra apple, but he was practically praying for a ride to appear every minute of the day. After all, near-constant walking, down a none-too-shady road, was beginning to wear him down.

He was also worried about the folks back in Destine; he had left a letter for his aunt, whom he lived with, explaining his situation before he left, and planned on sending her a postcard at the next town he arrived at, so he wasn't particularly worried about her.

He was, however, worried on Riku's behalf; his aunt was a cruel, rich woman, and he doubted she would help him.

And, most of all, he worried for Kairi, wherever she was, and hoping she wasn't going through too many hardships.

The boy stretched and ate a small bit of bread for breakfast, and was quickly on his way again. He yawned and looked around, boredly, and hoping there was something to be seen down the road; the pale gold of the wheat fields were all that could be seen for miles, and he hadn't yet come across a car. It was a rather bleak situation, and he was beginning to think he would never get the ride he was planning for.

And then, something wonderful happened.

He heard the most beautiful sound in the whole entire world: an engine, coming down the road.

Excited beyond belief, he slung his knapsack at a jaunty angle over his shoulder, and stuck out his thumb as the car approached. Mercifully, the vehicle slowed and stopped in front of him, and he got a good look inside.

Two men were riding there; the passenger looked ill-contented, with hair that seemed prematurely white and sharp blue eyes, while the driver was decidedly bigger, with a face that wasn't very attractive, yet not ugly, either.

"Whaddya want, kid?" the passenger asked; his voice was rough, and Sora could guess that he was probably a smoker.

"Y'got any space in here? I need a lift," Sora replied.

"We don't take hitchers," the passenger replied sourly, and Sora's face fell.

"Aw, c'mon, now, Donald," the driver said; he had a deep voice, with a rather thick southern drawl to it. "He's just a kid; where're you headin'?"

"East! Doesn't matter where, just east," Sora replied.

"Well! Wouldn't y'know it, tha's where we're headed, too!" the driver said. "You can c'mon in, if you want."

"No, no, no!" the passenger retaliated. "We ain't gonna get nowhere if we go around pickin' up hitchers!"

"He's just a lil' kid, Donald," the driver replied. "He won't cause us no trouble; will ya, kid?"

Sora shook his head as hard as he could, and the passenger sighed.

"Fine, just don't expect us to pay for anything y'need," he said, and Sora grinned.

"No, sir! I don't expect anything, sir!" he said excitedly, and a bit too quickly to sound sane.

"Hop on in the back, there," the driver said, and Sora opened the door and got in. The car began to move again, and the passenger looked dejectedly out the window.

"So, y'got a name, kid?" the driver asked.

"It's Sora," Sora replied. "Who might you fellas be?"

"Well, my name's Gerald Güfenheim, but mos' people jus' call me Goofy," the driver replied, a grin on his face; Sora saw a wide gap between his two front teeth, and couldn't help but laugh. "Fittin', ain't it?"

"I suppose it is!" Sora exclaimed. "Who's the other one?"

"My good friend an' colleague, Donald Duke," Goofy replied, and Donald lifted his hand in recognition. "So, Sora, what're you goin' east for?"

"I'm tryin' to find a friend," Sora replied, a somewhat melancholy expression on his face.

"Shucks! Seems we're more alike than I thought!" Goofy exclaimed. "Me an' Donald here is lookin' for someone too!"

"Really!" said Sora. "Who? A friend-a yours, like me?"

"Our good-for-nothing boss decided t'up an' leave town one night," Donald said, scowling. "The missus got all worried an' sent us after 'im. Dunno where he is, he just said he was headin' east in the letter he left."

"Gosh, that's real interesting," Sora said. "Did he say why? Your boss, I mean."

"Nope, but enterprising's what I'm guessin'," Donald said. "He likes goin' out an' travelling, but it's usually not by himself. I guess't was the whole 'alone' thing that got the missus all worried 'bout him."

"I see," Sora said, thoughtfully. "The person I'm lookin' for... I'm sore worried for her, too."

"A girl?" Donald said, looking back at Sora, and Sora nodded.

"Yeah. She got taken away a few nights ago, so I'm off looking for her," he replied, knitting his fingers together in his lap and looking at them.

"Gawrsh, whyever'd that happen?" Goofy said, and Sora shrugged his shoulders.

"Her folks couldn't take care of her anymore, I think," he replied. "She's adopted, y'see, so they sent her back to the city."

"Poor thing," Goofy said, sympathetically, and Donald took a long exhale, as if in agreement.

"Say, so you two're lookin' for your boss, right?" Sora asked, and Goofy nodded. "What's he like?"

"Boss?" Donald replied, and thought for a short while. "He's shrewd, an' stubborn, some of the time. Plus, he's awful short."

"Donald, tha's not very nice," Goofy said. "Our boss is a kind man, you know that. He's not _that_ stubborn."

Sora laughed a little, as Donald crossed his arms. "Well, what about this girl o' yours? What's she like?" he asked.

"Ah, her name's Kairi," he replied. "She's awful pretty, with these big eyes that're the color of lilacs 'r something like that, and this pretty red hair. She's nice to most ev'rybody, an' she tells the most amazing stories."

"Sounds like a ver' sweet person," Goofy smiled. "I c'n see why you'd be missin' her so much."

"Yeah..." Sora said thoughtfully. "Say, where're you all from?"

"Disney, Nebraska," Goofy replied. "Sweetest lil' town in th' middle o' nowhere, I say."

"Really?" Sora said, laughing a little. "What's it like?"

The trio proceeded to talk with each other for about an hour or so about their homes.

Sora learned about Minnie, their boss's wife, who seemed like as kind a person as Kairi; Daisy, Donald's wife, who was described as somewhat of a nag (by both men, of all things); Chip and Dale, the local mechanics, that were near-identical twins, as well as a little more on their mysterious boss with wanderlust. To Sora, he seemed like a rather interesting person, and even though he just heard through description, he found himself somewhat identifying with the enigmatic man.

The men broke for lunch around noon, according to Donald's silver pocket watch, and Sora was grateful to eat a little bit of sausage and relatively-fresh bread. During the meal, and when the journey began again, Sora was more than happy to tell stories about Destine; he said a lot about Riku and Kairi, and about his aunt, and the tree, and all sorts of memories he had.

The conversation moved to other things, until it began to get dark. Stopping the car, the three of them got out, and after a small dinner of canned beans and dried sausage, spread out on blankets under the stars, and fell asleep.

The next morning dawned with a mild breeze, and the boys were soon on their way east again. This leg of the voyage was somewhat quieter, stopping at the occasional gas station or diner for food. Sora and Donald were inclined to doze off against the sides of the car during the longer stretches of driving, a fact that Goofy found awfully amusing, and took advantage of it by singing softly to keep himself occupied. The whole process was rather boring, but this monotony was broken late one dry, windy morning, when Goofy saw something on the horizon.

"Look, a town!" he declared, and Donald was awake in an instant.

"Ohh, thank _God,_" he said, yawning and stretching his shoulders a little. "I really need a smoke."

"Are we gonna stop an' get s'more food?" Sora asked, and Goofy nodded.

"We'll also ask around, an' see if Boss was here, too," he said. "Maybe you could ask if yer friend's been here, too?"

"Hey, tha's not a bad idea!" Sora said, grinning. Maybe Kairi _had_ been here! Then, they could go in the right direction!

The car rolled into the town; it wasn't too quaint, and it wasn't exactly a metropolis, and the place had a sort of dry, washed-out air to it that made them feel somewhat uncomfortable. The most unnerving fact of all was that the place was completely devoid of people in the streets, and Sora gulped.

"Where d'ya think all th'people are...?" Sora asked, and was met with silence.

Then, a gunshot rang out, and something metallic caused a sound resembling a ricochet to be heard, and the boys panicked. Goofy stopped the car, and looked around wildly to see where the gun was, while Donald was simply beside himself.

"Who'n their right mind shoots at a car?" he yelled, as Sora ducked to the floor and covered his head.

Finally, the gun and its owner appeared in front of them: a young man, perhaps in his mid-twenties, approached the car, a shotgun at his shoulder and a fierce look in his eyes. A large, nasty-looking scar ripped across his face, shining sickeningly in the light.

"Gawrsh, Donald, whaddo I do?" Goofy said urgently, holding up his hands to show he was unarmed. "He looks like he's fixin' to hurt us!"

"Don' do a damn thing!" Donald replied, putting up his hands as well, as the man drew closer. He approached Goofy's window and, gun still in hand, began to question them.

"'squite a nice car y'got, here," he said, his face still frozen in an expression of solemnity. "Y'from the government?"

"No, sir, we're just passin' through," Goofy replied. "Uh, mind tellin' us what the gun's for?"

"Th'gun's for any of the money-suckin' businessmen or government men or bankers that keep tryin' to swindle the money away from this place," he said coldly, glancing around the car a little more. "You aren't any o' those?"

"Well, we're employees, but tha's about it," Donald said.

It didn't win over any favor with the man. "Rich, are you?" he asked.

"N-not really, uh, sir," Goofy replied nervously, and the man threateningly fingered the barrel of his gun, and the three took a collective gulp as an old, annoyed voice sounded through the empty streets.

"Leon, for Chrissakes, put that goddamn gun down!"

A middle-aged man, with cornsilk-yellow hair untidily kept behind a pair of brown goggles and an accent as thick as Goofy's, exited a mechanic's garage, waving a wrench in the air. The man with the gun sighed and put it down, but his glare didn't soften at all.

"Why the hell'd you go an' shoot at 'em, boy?" the mechanic asked, coming dangerously close to hitting the younger man on the head.

"They looked suspicious," he replied simply, and the mechanic stomped on the ground.

"You're a blame fool, boy, now gimme that gun," he demanded, and snatched the shotgun away, pocketing his wrench before addressing the terrified passengers of the vehicle. "Terrible sorry for Leon, over there. Haven't been too many visitors fer him t'scare, lately."

The man with the shotgun, now identified as Leon, crossed his arms and walked away.

"Oh, uh, tha's all right," Goofy replied, smiling nervously. "Times're hard, nowadays; I take it y'r town here ain't farin' too well?"

"You kiddin'? Practic'ly drownin' in a sea o' grass," the man replied, and chuckled in a surprisingly jolly way. "No worries, though. Y'folks care fer some gas? We got a station up a ways."

"Sure do, we need t'fill up," Goofy said.

"Then y'all just head on up the street an' to the right, y'can't miss it," he instructed. "In the meantime, how 'bout I git you fellas some coffee, hm? Really, 'm sorry abou' th'whole mess."

"That'd be great, y'got cigs?" Donald asked, and the man grinned, producing a box from the pocket of his overalls as he placed the shotgun in the crook of his arm.

"Sell 'em at the diner, y'can pick up a box'r two if y'want," he said, offering one to Donald, who accepted. "Go on, I'll meet'ye in a while."

"Thanks, stranger," Goofy said. "Uh, mind tellin' us your name?"

"Ah, it's Cid," the man said, laughing again. "Cid Highwind!"

"Why, thank ye', Cid, tha's awful kind," Goofy said. "We'll be seein' ye!"

"Jus' righ' up tha' way!" Cid replied, gesturing up the road. "Get yesselfs sommin' t'drink, y'hear?"

Goofy just nodded, and drove the car up the street as Sora got back up, and looked out the window to see Cid yelling quite violently in Leon's face, who, again, showed no change in emotion.

"Gosh, 'wonder what his problem was," Sora said, as Goofy pulled into the nearby station, and stopped the car.

"Well, Sora, perhaps he wasn't feelin' too welcoming," Goofy replied, and stepped out of the car. "I suppose he had no other way t'greet us."

"Helluva greeting, I'll say," Donald said sharply, getting out with Sora and stretching.

Goofy sighed a little, and smiled. "Now, you two c'n go down to that diner over there an' get yerselves some lunch. I'll get the car all filled-up an' ready t'run," he said.

"All right," Donald replied. "C'mon, kid, an' don't do anythin' stupid."

Sora nodded quickly as Goofy went to search for the attendant, and followed Donald into the small building near the gas station, with fading red paint on a sign calling it the "Traversa Diner." The door opened with the slight tinkle of a bell, and almost immediately, a sweet female voice was heard.

"Ah, g'day! Anything I can get you two?"

A pleasant-looking woman with a pear-shaped body, and limp, mousey hair tied back with a ribbon stood behind the counter, a smile on her face. Her dress was a faded pink, but was well-kept and clean. Sora found himself smiling; her cheerful prescence was a wonderful sight, after days and days of nothing but dull, dry fields to look at.

"Got any cigs?" Donald asked roughly, reaching in his pocket for a lighter.

"Why, sure; we got Firaga brand, is that all right?" she asked, and Donald nodded.

"Yeah, sure, tha's fine," he said, finding his lighter; it was an elegant, unusually expensive-looking thing, of silver and blue enamel. "How much?"

"Ten cents a pack," the woman replied, disappearing behind the counter, as she looked for the box of cigarettes they sold. "Is that all right?"

"Yeah, gimme two," Donald said, slapping a quarter on the table. The woman reappeared with two packages of smokes, and took the quarter.

"Thanks very much!" she said, the cash register popping open with a jingle; she gave Donald his nickel in change, and he pocketed it, along with his two new packages of cigarettes. With relish, he lit the cigarette that Cid had given him, and took a long puff, before exhaling. Sora began to cough, while the woman politely waved it out of her face.

"Say, Leon didn't shoot at you, did he?" she asked, managing to breathe through the smoke, and Donald glanced in her direction.

"As a matter o' fact, he did," he said. "He related to you at all?"

"No, not at all," she replied, shaking a hand. "We're just old friends. I bet you'd like something as an apology; you want any coffee? It won't cost you anything."

"That sounds fantastic," Donald said, but Sora made a disgusted face.

"I tried coffee once, an' it was awful," he said, and the woman laughed.

"All right, some Kool-Aid, then?" she said, and Sora nodded eagerly. "All right, what flavor?"

"Umm... paopu, please!" Sora replied, and the woman smiled.

"All right, I'll get some for you," she said. "And still coffee for you?" Donald nodded. "I'll be right back."

The woman was gone a short while, and Donald enjoyed several long, leisurely drags on his cigarette, causing Sora to erupt in a fit of coughing.

"Can't you... koff... smoke that... koff koff... outside...?" he said, struggling to breathe, and Donald gave him a confused look.

"Why should I?" he asked. The woman returned with a mug of coffee and a glass of yellow-orange Kool-Aid, and attempted to wave the smoke out of her face again.

"Ooh! That smells somethin' awful," she said, and left their drinks on the counter to open a window by the door. The smoke immediately began to clear. Sora stopped coughing, and eyed his Kool-Aid, before drinking a good amount of it down in one gulp.

"Thanks a lot, ma'am," he said, smiling, and the woman laughed.

"Oh, don't call me that," she replied, smiling as well, "it's much too formal. Call me Aerith."

"All right, then; thanks, Aerith," Sora corrected, and Aerith nodded.

"You're quite welcome. Say, is that your friend comin' down the way?" she said, pointing outside the diner, where Goofy was making long strides towards the diner.

"Ah! Yes," Sora replied. "Maybe he'll want somethin' to drink, too."

"I suppose I should make some more coffee," Aerith began, but Donald interrupted.

"Naw, don' bother. He don' like coffee," he said, and Aerith smiled again.

"All right, no coffee it is," she said, and Goofy entered with a jingle of the door.

"The girl at the gas station's helpin' t'fix th'car up a bit," he announced, and took off his cap. "Seems we got a few bumps n' scrapes that won' hold up fer much longer, an' gettin' shot at didn' help much. Ahh, g'day, miss."

"You as well," Aerith said, nodding. "You want anything to drink?"

"Some water'd be mighty fine," Goofy said. "Y'got any o' that?"

"Of course!" Aerith said. "I'll be right back."

She disappeared again, and Donald finished his cigarette and put it out in an ashtray nearby, before grabbing his coffee, and grimacing after taking a sip.

"Uck... bitter..." he said, and Goofy looked at him somewhat condescendingly.

"Maybe they can't get milk an' sugar," he said, and Donald looked a bit sorry for a second, before Aerith returned with the glass of water.

"No, we have plenty," she said. "Would you like some?"

"...no, 'm fine," Donald said, putting his mug down. "'m not so thirsty anymore."

Aerith laughed merrily, as Goofy drained his glass and wiped off his upper lip with his sleeve. "So," she asked, "where are you all from?"

"We're from Nebraska, but Sora here's from Iowa," Goofy said. "Don't suppose y'could tell us what this here place is called, either?"

"Ah, of course," Aerith replied. "There hasn't been a sign here for years, anyways. I suppose I should give you a real welcome to Traversa, in the great state of Illinois; it's very nice to have you here."

"Nice t'be here," Goofy replied, and the two smiled together, while Sora blandly sipped on his Kool-Aid, and Donald eyed his abandoned coffee cup. A slight sparkle in the light brought Goofy's attention to Aerith's hand, where a dull band of silver shone on the ring finger of her left hand.  
"Y'married?" he asked, and she held her hand bashfully, her face turning slightly pink.

"...just engaged," she replied quietly.

"Congratulations, then, 'cos yer husband's gonna be a lucky man," Goofy said, and Aerith blushed again. "Where's he? Does 'e work here in the diner?"

Aerith shook her head. "He's not here, actually," she reported, smiling somewhat bittersweetly. "He works in a factory out of state, and sends half his salary every month to help out here. I suppose you've noticed that we're not exactly doing well..."

"Gosh, what a guy," Sora said, nodding and whistling slightly. "I'd like t'meet him, 'f he's marrying a pretty girl like you an' goin' off, actin' all like a hero."

Aerith grinned. "If he heard you boys saying things like that, he'd probably kick you in the shins," she laughed, and Sora began reclaiming his thoughts on her fiance being "heroic." Aerith tilted her head curiously, noticing something in the distance. "Ah, Yuffie's here." she announced.

"Damn it _all_, Aerith, this car's a real clunker!" a bright female voice sounded, as the bell to the door was violently jerked from side to side with a new entry. "We're gonna have t'get Merlin to help'r somethin'!"

Her loud arrival caused the three new customers to stare at her; Sora, in particular, was transfixed. The girl seemed vaguely oriental, with almond-shaped eyes and straight, shiny black hair that was cropped neatly about her face, and he had never seen anyone like her before.

"...uh, whatcha starin' at?" she asked, and Sora hastily returned to his Kool-Aid.

"They're the folks that Leon shot at," Aerith replied, with unusual pleasantness. "Did he hit their car?"

Yuffie nodded. " 'mafraid that you folks're gonna be here for a while."

"Dammit!" Donald said, pounding his fist on the counter, causing the coffee in his mug to jump. " 'the hell'd he do to our car??"

"Hit a buncha stuff," Yuffie reported. "Ruined a buncha stuff."

"Can y'fix it?" Goofy asked, and the girl shrugged.

"Cid's gonna try all he can, but if he can't, then there's always Merlin," she replied.

"...who's Merlin?" Sora asked, images of knights and wizards appearing in his mind.

"Some old coot tha's awful good with machines," Yuffie said, and laughed. "Showed up one day with 'is wife years back, an' never left. Awful helpful, but kinda... odd."

"Yeah, but," Sora said, "Merlin's not his real name, is it?" Yuffie shrugged again.

" 'sall he ever calls himself," she replied. "Don't suppose it's real important."

"Just who else lives here?" Donald asked. "They all inside, 'rwhat?" Yuffie and Aerith developed thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Well, it's a funny story, actually," Yuffie said. "When I was little, this place was _so_ small, wasn' it?"

Aerith nodded. "It was a very small town, until the crash hit. Oddly enough, everyone started flooding in from out east, looking for work," she explained. "Thankfully, we had a lot of work to offer, so things were good. Life was almost normal."

"Yeah, an' then all the government men an' moneyleechers started showin' up," Yuffie said bitterly, taking a seat at the counter next to Sora. "Started takin' all our hard-earned money away for taxes an' projects an' scams an' all that bull. People started leavin'."

"Pretty soon, there were only a handful of people left," continued Aerith, fetching a rag and wiping a spot on the counter. "With fewer people around, we started losin' money. My fiance and a few other men left when they got this job offer out in Indiana, and we haven't heard much from them, but we get money in the mail. That's been helping an awful lot, but it won't last us much longer."

"Gawrsh, that's awful bad," Goofy said softly, and there was silence in the diner for a short while.

"Well, I know one way that'll help us _all!_" Yuffie said brightly, and Aerith sighed a laugh.

"Yuffie, you're not going to go on about Hart's Will again, are you?" she chuckled, and Yuffie pouted.

"You know it'd help all of us!" she said.

"Hart's Will?" Sora said confusedly. "What're you talkin' about?"

"Wha', y'mean y'don't know about Kingsley Hart??" Yuffie said, looking at Sora as if he had said "You're ugly and I hate you." He shook his head. "I can't believe you! The whole country's gone stark-raving mad over the whole thing!"

"Well, what the hell is it?" Donald asked, and Yuffie shot him a glare.

"I'm gonna get to it!" she replied, and cleared her throat. "Well, there was this big, super-rich businessman named Kingsley Hart. Awful good man, ran orphanages and gave away money. He was a hero." Aerith began to laugh lightly, and Yuffie glared in her direction for a second, before continuing. "Anyways, he died not long ago, an' left this _huuuuge_ will!"

"How much?" Donald asked.  
"More'n a billion dollars!" Yuffie said, and Sora just about spurt out his paopu Kool-Aid, which he was sipping as he listened.

"Are you kidding??" he said, and Yuffie shook her head.

"No lie! It's in all the papers!" she said. "Anyways, Hart didn't have no family, so people were all curious as to who he left all 'is money to."

She paused dramatically, and Sora lost his patience. "Who was it, does anyone know?" he blurted.

"Well'f course people know, stupid," she replied. "Turns out he left _all_ his money to these seven girls from an orphanage he managed. Called them his little 'Princesses' or somethin'."

"Gawrsh!" Goofy exclaimed. "That's amazin'! Who're they?"

"Your guess is as good as mine; the only people who know are his lawyers, I suppose," she said, "an' they're prolly off findin' 'em right now. Otherwise, nobody knows who they are, but one thing's for sure; whoever lives near them are gonna reap the benefits, huh?"

The three nodded intently, and Aerith gave a slight laugh. "Gosh, what if one o' them Princesses lived right here! That'd help us out for sure!" Yuffie said, somewhat wistfully, looking at the ceiling.

"Well, 're any o' you orphans, 'round here?" Goofy asked, and Yuffie's face fell a little.

"Tha's where the probl'm lies, I suppose," she replied gloomily. "I've lived here since I was little; my grandpa moved to the east coast all the way from Japan, but then we moved here during the crash. My parents went west a year or so back, but I stayed here with Cid an' Leon."

"I also moved here, when I was younger," Aerith said. "My parents went west with Yuffie's."

"Dang," Sora said. "Then, I suppose you don' have much of a chance of gettin' help from a Princess, 'r whatever they are."

"But there's still a chance!" Yuffie said suddenly, almost shouting, and burst into laughter as Sora practically fell off his seat.

The door opened again, and Cid came stomping in, grease and a scowl on his face.

"Well, 'ts official," he declared, crossing his burly arms. "You folks're gonna be stuck here fer qui-ite a while."

"How long d'ye reckon?" Goofy asked, and Cid shrugged as Donald hung his head in exasperation.

"Day 'r two at the least," he replied. "Believe me, Leon's got high hell headin' his way fer what 'e did."

"Oh, dear," Aerith said. "Well, there's a hotel in town; you can stay here for free while we fix your car."

"Well, gawrsh, y'mean it?" Goofy said, and Aerith nodded.

"As long as it's okay with you, Cid," she said, and Cid chuckled.

"Oh, 'mfine with it, all right," he said. "I wanna make sure you folks're right comfr'table here."

"Ahh, sounds like we c'n get some proper rest!" Sora said, somewhat excited at the news, but disheartened by the fact that they were going to be delayed, and he was growing further from Kairi. "But could you work extra-fast, okay?"

"Sure, kid; 'ssnot like I wouldn't," Cid replied, and laughed a coarse, smoky laugh. "I'll be sure t'get you folks fixed up right, an' with Merlin, yer practic'lly guaranteed it."

-///-

"Ahh! It's been ages since 've had a real bed to sleep on!!" Sora sighed, flopping back-first onto the bed in the hotel, and Goofy laughed at his enthusiasm.

"I'm happy t'sleep in a bed too, Sora," he said. "Th'ground ain't the nicest bed, huh?"

Sora nodded, and slid his arms around on top of the blankets, feeling its smooth surface.

"You're sleepin' on the couch, y'know," Donald said, who was reading a newspaper that Cid had supplied, even though it had already been read and was well-wrinkled.

"Aww!" Sora complained, sitting up and crossing his arms.

"You're th'smallest, 'ts only fair," he replied, flipping through the paper. "Besides, there is no way in _hell_ I am sharin' a bed with that oaf."

Goofy chuckled in his awkward, unusual way, and Sora couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"Well fine, I suppose it's fair," he said. "'m not goin' t'bed anytime soon, anyways. I wanna do some reading!"

"Reading?" Goofy said, and Sora nodded as he jumped off the bed to fetch his knapsack. The contents of his blanket - a tin box, a comb, a hat, two empty bottles, and a small book - spilled out onto the blanket, and Sora pounced on top of the mattress again as he got this things in order. "Well, Sora, what're y'gonna read?"

Sora thrust the book in Goofy's face, who looked at it with an expression of great interest as he read the words on the cover. "'Winnie the Pooh,' by A.A. Milne. You like this book?"

"Yeah! It was m'fav'rite when I was little, and I still love lookin' through it," Sora said, and grinned. As Goofy smiled with him, Donald suspiciously eyed the tin box on the bed. "I can't read at all in the car, 'cos m'stomach gets all twisted, an' I haven't had much of a chance to read in any good light. Suppose I should take advantage of it, huh?"

Goofy nodded in agreement and began to hand Sora back his book, when Donald leaned forward and snatched the tin box.

"Hey! What're y'doin'?" Sora demanded, leaping at Donald, who was beginning to open it. "That's mine! You can't open it!"

"Well, why not?" Donald protested, holding the box high in the air, so Sora couldn't reach. "What're you hidin', boy?"

"'m not hiding anything," Sora said, "but that's my box! Give it back!"

Donald indignantly kept the box out of Sora's reach, until Goofy smoothly took it from Donald's grasp and sat on the bed, leaving the feuding party silent for a small while.

"Sora, what exactly d'ye keep in here?" he asked, opening the lid, as Sora got up to try and stop him again. Once the lid was open, he stopped, and scratched the back of his neck.

"...just a few things..." he replied, a little embarrassed. Goofy found a few photographs within, a penknife, several coins in change, a few bills, and a heavy silver key, with a spiraled design on its handle. One of the photographs was of Sora, with a smiling, fair-haired woman, her scalp exploding with curls.

"Who's this? Yer ma?" he asked, showing Sora the photo.

"Ah, no, that's m'aunt," he replied. "I don' live with m'parents."

"Really?" Donald said, growing interested. "Y'an orphan?"

"Naw, don't think so," he said.

"Don't think so?" Donald echoed. "How c'n y'say that?"

"They just up an' disappeared one day, so m'aunt came an' raised me," Sora explained, looking rather sad. "Aun' Molly thinks that the police got 'em, but I don' think so."

"Whaddya suppose happened to 'em?" Donald asked, as Goofy thoughtfully looked the photograph over and said nothing. Sora shrugged.

"Dunno. They could be in jail, or dead," he said. "Bu' thassokay, cos I got an awful sweet aunt. Ah! I gotta send her a postcard, soon, or she'll be too worried 'bout me."

"I'll go with y'to the post office t'morrah, 'n y'can pick up one of them," Goofy offered, placing the photograph tenderly back, and picking up another one; this one had Sora, with a pretty young girl and boy around his age sitting together by a tree. "Now, who're these two?"

"Riku an' Kairi, I told y'bout them!" Sora said, his mood lifting considerably.

"Ah, y'did," Donald said. "S'that's what they look like? Lemme see."

Goofy handed him the photograph, and he whistled softly upon seeing it.

"My, that girl's gonna have a lotta suitors when she grows up," he said. "Mighty lovely. Could say th'same for th'boy."

Sora's face turned beet red, and he snatched the photograph back as Goofy took out the last one, with a buxom woman in a dress smiling seductively at the camera.

"Sora! What're you doin' with a picture o' Jessica Rabbit in yer box?" he said, chuckling quite hard.

"Hey, I told you not t'go in there!"Sora said, nearly falling off the bed as he tried to take it back from Goofy; more than anything, that photograph of the famous movie star was the reason he wanted people away from his things. Goofy and Donald both began to laugh.

"It's all right, Sora, she's a lovely lady," Goofy said, handing the photo back to Sora, who firmly placed it in his box. Donald snorted.

"Well! I'm gonna get my reading done!" Sora proclaimed, and sat on the couch with his book, smiling as he read the familiar words and phrases. It wasn't long before he had nodded off there, to which Donald sighed.

"Look at him," he said, motioning to the boy. "Fallin' asleep like that, he's such a child."

"Well, tha's true, Donald," Goofy replied, and got up to make Sora more comfortable. Laying him against a pillow, and placing a blanket over him, he took the book out of his arms and placed it on the table. "Poor kid mus' be awful tired."

"We're all tired," Donald replied. "Y'should get s'me sleep, y'know."

"I know," Goofy replied, but he didn't take his eyes off the boy.

"...wha's got you so sad?" Donald asked him, noticing a misty appearance in his friend's brown eyes.

"Th'poor kid mus' be awful lonely," he replied.

"Lonely? Him? Naw, he's a happy kid," Donald said. "A little _too_ happy, 'fy'ask me."

"Yeah, bu'..." Goofy began, and trailed off. "Didja see his face when he was talkin' 'bout his folks?"

Donald shook his head. "What, was he sad-lookin'?"

"Not really," Goofy replied. "Whenever he's talkin' 'bout that girl―Kairi's her name, I think―he looks awful thoughtful, an' m'right sure that he cares th'most for her."

"Yeah, I suppose," Donald replied.

"Even though he doesn't show it, she's prolly one o' the closes' people to 'im, cos he talks 'bout her so kindly," Goofy said thoughtfully, and looked at Donald with sudden force behind his eyes. "Donald, we're gonna help him. We're gon' help'm whether y'like it'r not."

Donald furrowed his brow in confusion, and folded the newspaper closed. "Aren't we sorta already?" he asked, and Goofy shook his head.

"We gotta look out fer th'kid. He don't got any parents to watch 'im, so we gotta make sure nothin' bad happens to 'im, until he finds his friend," he replied. "An' once we find Boss, we're gonna bring him home on th'way back."

Donald sighed, and scowled. "Why do we gotta look out for th'kid?" he asked. "We don't owe him anything, an' he can't pay us."

Goofy dolefully looked in Donald's direction, causing the high strung man to wince and sigh again. "Gerald, stop that," he said, and Goofy cut it out; whenever Donald used his real name, he meant business. "As soon as the kid gets a tip or something, we're leavin' him. That's it."

"But what if that doesn't happen?" Goofy replied. "We don' wanna leave the kid all alone again; I couldn't stand that. I'm feelin' bad enough for Max, as it is."

Donald was quiet for a little while, as he realized what had caused Goofy to feel sad in the first place; his son Max was by himself back in Disney, and probably missing his father a great deal. However, Max had Minnie and Daisy watching out for him, while Sora had nothing. It seemed only natural that Goofy couldn't stand the thought of Sora being alone―it was in his nature to try and make people happy, regardless of who they were.

"...awright, fine," Donald said. "We won' stop until the boy finds his friend. I'm still not payin' for anything he wants, though."

Goofy grinned, and Donald sighed. "Stop it, you're makin' me feel like my uncle," he scowled, and got out of the chair to change into his long-johns for the night.

-///-

The next morning, after a breakfast in the diner, Sora and the men went to see how their car was doing in the garage, to discover a strange-looking old man with a beard like a biblical figure peering under the hood with great interest. Needless to say, it was a bit of a shock.

"Who'n the world is _that_?" Sora said, and the old coot looked up at them, eyes magnified by a pair of round glasses.

"Oh, hello, there," he said casually, with an eloquent accent that seemed very out-of-the-area. "You're the ones with the ruined car, I suppose."

"You're supposin' right, I guess," Goofy said cheerfully. "Are you Merlin?"

"So I am," the man replied, standing and extending a bony hand in their direction; Goofy shook it, but Sora and Donald declined. "It seems that your vehicle is quite damaged, but I'll have it back up in no time."

"Y'know exactly how much time? We don' exactly have the mos' time in th'world," Donald said, tapping his foot, and Merlin stroked his beard a little.

"You should be able to leave by this evening," he replied with a smile. "Care for a cookie? My wife made a whole batch last night."

"That would be great!" Sora said immediately, forgetting his recent breakfast.

"That's wonderful," Merlin replied, and cupped his hand to his mouth. "Faye! The visitors would like some cookies!"

"Oh, that's just wonderful; I was waiting for you all to arrive," a warm, grandmotherly voice said, as a plump woman in a periwinkle dress came clicking from the office and into the garage itself, a plate of cookies in her hands. "Here you are, dears, help yourselves."

Sora immediately reached for one and stuffed it in his mouth, and she chuckled. "Go on, there's no reason why adults can't enjoy a cookie, too," she said, pushing the plate towards Donald. Goofy gladly took a cookie, but it took Donald a while to extend his hand to the plate and choose one. After eating it, he reached for another, and Merlin took one as well.

"Glad to see my cooking's appreciated," Faye said. "Merlin, boys, I'm going to put this in the office with Cid and Yuffie. If you want more, don't hesitate to get any."

"Thanks, ma'am!" Sora said, and Merlin's wife smiled as she shuffled back into the office, her pastel pink heels clicking on the concrete.

"Ah, as beautiful as the day I met her," Merlin sighed, holding his cookie thoughtfully near his mouth. "Her cooking's gotten even better, too."

"What's her name, again?" Goofy asked politely.

"Faye," Merlin replied, nibbling on the cookie, and a few crumbs sticking to his mustache. "Ah, isn't she just wonderful?"

"I suppose," Donald said, a little disturbed by the man's devotion to his wife. "Shouldn't you be workin' on our car?"

"Ah! So I should," Merlin replied, popped the rest of the cookie in his mouth, and returned to the car, tucking his beard in his shirt as he peered further in.

"Um, so I think th'car's pretty taken care of," Sora said cheerfully, breaking the air in the conversation. "Shouldn't we go to the general store? I wanna get a postcard for m'aunt."

"Sure, we'll come with'ye," Goofy said, "won't we, Donald?"

"Yeah, we will," Donald replied. "I think it's down th'street an' on the corner."

"Let's go!" Sora cheered, bounding out of the garage as Merlin produced an unusually large wrench with a gleam in his eye. Donald gulped; the car was his, after all, and he had no idea what this geezer was going to do.

"C'mon, Donald, the car'll be fine," Goofy said, patting him on the shoulder and ushering him outside. "We gotta help Sora find a postcard."

"Y'know, he can get one by himself jus' fine," Donald complained, "so why do we hafta tag along?"

Goofy nudged him a little harder, scowled, and joined Sora, who was obliviously strolling down the sidewalk with a smile on his face. Donald sighed again, and made a mental note to take a nice long smoke after they got out of the general store.

They arrived fairly quickly, and the door opened with the tinkle of an overhead bell.

"Ah, welcome!" a young voice said from further in the store.

"How c'n we help you?" another voice (nearly identical to the first, but coming from another area) said. Donald's face became an indescribable mix of horror, astonishment, and anger, and looked around to see where the sound was coming from, although Sora and Goofy didn't notice.

"We need help buyin' a postcard'r something," Sora said. "Uh, can y'help us?"

A young boy with white-blond hair and blue eyes came to the storefront, dressed neatly in a pair of short trousers and a blue shirt and cap. He opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw Donald, his face broke into a smile, and promptly tackled him.

"Uncle Donald!" he cried, and Goofy's eyes widened.

"Donald, 'ssat one o' yer nephews? I think I met 'em when yer sister came'n visited a while back," he said thoughtfully. "They was real lil' back then, though." Donald didn't reply to Goofy, instead practically screaming at his nephew.

"_Dewey, what'n th'world are you doin' all th'way out here?_" he demanded, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and practically shaking him. "And _where_ are your brothers?"

"We're back here, Uncle Donald!" two identical voices called, and two more boys, different to the first boy only in their shirt and cap color, appeared.

"...am I seein' things?" Sora said, rubbing his eyes.

"Nope; they're triplets," Goofy said brightly. Elsewhere, Donald was still beside himself.

"_You still didn't answer my question!_" he said, irate. "What are you doin' all the way over here?"

"We ran away from home," the one in red said.

"Well, Mother said it was okay, so we kinda didn't," added the one in blue.

"We've got a job, anyways, and nobody minds," the one in green concluded, and Sora found himself slightly disoriented, as the rapidfire of sentences sounded like it had been just one person speaking. Donald was silent, gathering his face forward in confusion, then sighed and dropped his hands from his nephew's shoulder.

"One of you help out m'friend, here," he said, any sort of emotion gone from his voice. "I'm, uh, gonna have t'have a chat with you boys."

"I'll help y'two out," the one in green said, waving at Sora and Goofy with a grin as the boys in red and blue escorted Donald into a back room. "M'name's Louie; what can I help'ye with?"

"Uh, we need postcards," Sora said.

"Ah! Postcards!" Louie said, making his way to the counter (which was a bit too tall for his small frame; it seemed that short stature ran in Donald's family) and crawling up on top of it. "We got 'em here in this stand, two for a penny."

"Ah! Then I'll take two!" Sora said, reaching into his pocket for the small amount of change he carried with him, and slapping the penny on the counter.

"Take your pick," Louie said, taking the penny and glancing into the back room, where Donald was speaking quietly with his other two nephews, which was rather unusual.

"Ah, looks like they're gon' be there for a while. If you wanna leave, I'll tell 'im where y'went to."

"We're just goin' back to the garage, Louie," Goofy said. "Picked out yer postcard, Sora?"

Inspecting the display with out-of-place studiousness, Sora chose a postcard advertising the "famous" bell tower of Traversa (which hadn't been used in nearly a decade), and a particularly nice picture of a knight on a horse in a calming pasture, with the words "I will guard you with my life, fair maiden," written on them.

"Thanks for your business!" Louie said politely, and Sora smiled.

"Sure thing! It's nice meeting some fam'ly 'f Donald's," he replied, causing Goofy to smile as well. "I'll see y'later!"

Waving, Sora and Goofy left for the garage again, and found Merlin merrily wrenching and hammering away at the engine. Getting a pen from the office, Sora got a chair and clipboard, and watched Merlin work as he began writing his aunt a letter. Things were relatively quiet for a while, as Goofy was in the office chatting with Faye over some more cookies, and Cid and Yuffie were off doing something with Leon in town.

As he scribbled down his words, he began thinking of home, and smiled as he remembered the day he and Riku had made a rope swing for the tree, and argued over who would get to push Kairi. She ended up swinging herself, causing both of the boys quite a lot of embarassment. Again, he thought of where the both of them were; Kairi was probably in a car, or even a factory several states away, and Riku... he was probably still stuck in Destine, the poor guy.

A low rumbling noise from outside the garage heralded the approach of a car, and both Sora and Merlin briefly looked up. It stopped, a door opened and closed, and harsh footsteps came forward, crunching on the asphalt until they came in contact with the concrete floor.

A stern-looking woman in a well-tailored suit of a dark dusky violet entered, sleek black hair pulled into a tight bun. Sora shivered a little bit; she was a little frightening, but also vaguely familiar. Where had he seen her before?

After looking around the garage with a slight expression of disgust, she approached Merlin, who had begun working on the car again.

"You, there," she said. "Are you the one in charge here?"

"No, ma'am, I'm afraid I'm not," Merlin said, a smile on his wrinkly old face. The woman grimaced as she saw his greasy skin, and backed away a little.

"Then may you direct me to whoever _is _charge of this dump?" she said sharply, crossing her arms.

"Well, I don't know exactly, but you can probably find some help in the office, over there," Merlin said, pointing helpfully in the direction. The woman sniffed a little, nodded, and marched towards the office, noticing Sora's gaze as she went.

"It's rude to stare, little boy," she said poisonously, and Sora shivered, nearly dropping his postcard as she entered the office. However, the next person he saw enter the garage really made his clipboard hit the floor.

"RIKU!"

The person he had least expected to see had wandered into the room, a half-dazed look on his face, and Sora very nearly tackled him.

"Sora?" Riku said, thrusting his arms out before Sora could crush him with a hug. "What're you doin' here?"

"I got a ride out, Riku!" Sora said joyously. "See, I toldja it would work!"

"...Sora, jus' go home," Riku said, with surprising quietness in his voice.

"...go home? Whaddya mean, 'go home,'?" Sora asked, looking at Riku as if he had said he didn't feel well. "I made it this far. Why should I go home?"

"I'm gonna find Kairi, for sure," Riku said. "M'aunt came f'me, Sora. I know she c'n find Kairi, so you don' have to look f'her anymore. Jus' go home; she can get a car for yo-"  
"Riku, 'mnot going t'go home!" Sora shot back, practically yelling. "What, so your rich little aunt came an' got y―" he began, then stopped and realized why exactly he felt so afraid when the stern-faced woman had marched in the garage; she was Riku's aunt, Maleficent, who was so miserly and impersonal that she gave Riku a saving's bond for his 5th birthday. "Oh," he said, coming to this sudden realization, all his thoughts stopping for a moment.

"'Oh,' what?" Riku said. "Sora, really, I'm lookin' out for-"

"I'm not goin' home!" Sora said suddenly, so out-of-context that Riku began to laugh in spite of himself.

"Well, then, maybe I could convince her t'let you come with-" he began, but Sora stomped his foot.

" 'mnot goin' home," he said determinedly, "an' I sure am _not_ gonna travel with _that_ woman! I got good traveling friends already."

"Friends?" Riku said, looking at Sora as he tried to understand the sentence. "Whaddya mean, 'friends,'? Y'can't possibly call people you've been travelin' with for, what, only a week fri-"

"They're nice people, Riku," Sora said hotly, "an' they've treated me awful nice since I started out with them. I don't suppose I could expect th'same from yr'aunt."

Riku stood in silence for a while, his slim face fixed in a stern expression. "Sora, you're bein' awful rude."

"So what if I am?" Sora said, unaware that he was falling into an argument already; Merlin thoughtfully leaned forward to listen. "Y'need t'stop bein' so mean."

"Mean, am I?" Riku said, with a sarcastic scoff. "I suppose these new 'friends' o'yours must be awful stupid, cos it's rubbin' off on you."

Sora was in the right mind to punch Riku in the face, but his aunt left the office in a huff and prevented him from acting.

"Riku, we're leaving," she said curtly, glancing at Sora as she went by. "And who are you?"

"...somebody from home, tha's not goin' back 'till I finish something," Sora said, glaring at her. She glanced back, then returned to her walking; to her, he wasn't important at all.

"Riku," she called, and Riku cast Sora one final glance, before exiting the garage and stepping into the sleek, expensive-looking automobile, Maleficent complaining about "incompetant idiots that don't know a damn thing about cars." The car drove off, Sora still casting angry looks at it.

"I say, what a rude woman," Merlin said after a while, shocking Sora a little; he had almost forgotten the old man was there. "That boy; Riku, was it? Is he a friend of yours?"

"Not anymore, I think," Sora said glumly, returning to his chair and postcard. "I don' get it. He used t'be so nice... wha' happened?"

"People change, sometimes for the worse," Merlin said. "Perhaps he is going through a metamorphosis, and he doesn't know how to handle it."

"Metamorphosis?" Sora said, the image of a bug in a cocoon forming in his mind.

"Something like that," Merlin chuckled. "Don't worry. When you see him again, perhaps he'll have changed for the better."

"I hope so..." Sora said, looking at his unfinished postcard; for some reason, it only seemed to make him homesick now.

-///-

That evening, Sora's dour mood still hadn't cleared up; after finishing his postcard, Goofy brought it to the post office for him, and he spent the day in his room, reading and looking over his photographs (Jessica Rabbit being tactfully left at the bottom of the box). Declining to come to the diner for lunch, Goofy was kind enough to bring him a sandwich, and returned to the diner to speak with everyone.

"Th'poor kid's not himself," he said. "Whaddya suppose is wrong?"

"I think that his recent encounter with his friend may have upset him," Merlin said, the academic tone of his speech casting a strange contrast through the room. "They exchanged some very harsh words."

"I think he needs his mind taken off things," Aerith suggested, serving up a sandwich for Cid. "And speaking of being worried about people, where are Yuffie and Leon? He came in to get her about something not long ago..."

"Everyone, everyone!" Yuffie interrupted, storming in the door with Leon close behind. "Leon's got the perfect way of cheering up Sora, _and_ helping make up for the car!"

Donald, who had returned from the general store not long after Riku had departed, raised an eyebrow. "It'd better be a good'un," he said sourly.

"Show 'em, show 'em!" Yuffie urged, nudging him on the arm; he was carrying something in his gray vest, and everyone in the diner peered in to take a look.

As he unfurled it, a unanimous smile spread throughout the group, although Donald was none-too-enthusiastic.

"You think he'll like it?"

"There is no way in he-"

"It's perfect!"

-///-

Sora was still looking at his photographs, a pitiful expression on his face. Goofy gently knocked before opening the door, and peered in.

"Sora, we're havin' dinner at the diner, y'wanna join?" he asked.

"No thanks," Sora said. "I'm not that hungry."

"Are y'sure?" said Goofy, and Sora nodded, not looking at him. "My, awful pity. Miss Faye made the nicest chocolate cake, an' she was so intent on lettin' you have a piece."

"...well, I suppose a _little_ cake would be all right," Sora said, after being silent for a small while and putting down his photograph, then smiling ever-so-slightly.

With a grin, Goofy held the door open for him, and they strolled together to the diner, which was vibrantly visible and lit from the inside. Entering together, a few people cheered once the saw Sora's face.

"Nice to see you join us for dinner," Aerith said pleasantly.

Sora nodded. "Can I have some cake, now?" he asked, and Faye laughed.

"No cake until you have a real dinner," she said, and Sora groaned.

"I just came here for the cake..." he said, but Cid slapped him jovially on the back and shoved him into a booth.

"Siddown an' have a burger!" he said, grabbing one off the counter and placing it in front of the boy. Sora eyed it for a bit, as everyone else went on with their dinners, when his growling stomach caused him to cave in and take a bite. It was good. Taking another bite, he took that statement back; it was _fantastic_, no, the _best _burger he had ever tasted.

Within seconds, he was wolfing the thing down, and started coughing as a result.

"Don't force it, kid," Yuffie said, as Sora regained his breath and requested a glass of milk.

As Aerith placed a glass in front of him, Yuffie subtlely nudged Leon, who was standing near the counter and simply watching what was going on. When he didn't react, she nudged harder. Still no reaction. Sighing, she wholeheartedly stepped on his foot, and he cried out in pain.

"Oww! Whatdye- ohh, right," he said, reverting back to his nearly monotonous way of speech, and heading back into the kitchen for something. Sora noticed, and gave Yuffie a look that said what his milk-filled mouth couldn't: "...what?"

"Ehe... ehe... uh, bug...?" she said nervously, and Sora shrugged, swallowing the milk. At least it worked for him.

Leon returned, a light yellow bundle in his arms, and stood conspicuously close to Sora, who was chomping away at his burger with delight. When he finally realized that the hulking man was standing next to him, he nervously looked up and scooted a little further away.

"...yes?" he said.

"Um, I was meaning t'give you all something as an apology for your car," he said, his face void of any apologetic expression. "So, uh, here."

Thrusting the bundle into Sora's lap, the other customers of the diner held their breaths (except for Donald, of course, but he rarely got excited about anything, especially surprises that he already knew about). Carefully unwrapping the blanket, Sora gasped to see a pale orange paw reach out of the folds, followed by the tiny, adorable head of a kitten. Boy and kitten stared at each other for a good long while, tension rising in the air with every second. Then, Sora opened his mouth.

"KITTEN!" he squealed, grabbing the thing and hugging it close to his chest. "Oh my-! This is just... this is... wow, Leon, I forgive you!"

"I knew he'd like it," Yuffie said smugly, crossing her arms.

"I found the little guy out in the street," Leon explained. "And I, uh, _we_ thought that you three'd like to take care of him. He's a little too young t'be without his mama, so y'gotta take good care o'him."

Sora nodded, shiny blue eyes wide and full of tears. "I'm so happy...!" he proclaimed, hugging the kitten even closer, and rubbing it against his cheek.

"I hate cats," Donald said, and Goofy nudged him with a chuckle.

"You were th'one that agreed to let 'im have it," he said.

"I was outvoted!" Donald replied, crossing his arms sourly. "Now we got a damn kid _and_ a cat too look after, _and_ we still haven't found our boss. This is jus' great..."

"Yer boss?" said Cid, overhearing their conversation. "Say, he wasn't a short little fella, was 'e? Black hair, buck teeth?"

"About this high?" Goofy said, showing the height with his hand.

"Yeah, about that tall," Cid agreed. "Man like that passed through a while back. Y'lookin' for him?"

"O'course!" Donald shot. "Where'd he go?"

"Well, he went north, towards Wisconsin," Cid reported. "Said that a tall man an' a short man with grey hair'd be lookin' for 'im. I suppose since y'had that kid with'ye, I didn't really think it was you."

"I told you that pickin' the kid up was a bad idea..." Donald said, but Goofy nudged him again.

"Y'said no such thing," he said. "Y'sure he was headed north?"

"Absolutely," Cid replied. "Y'all gonna head out tomorrow, then?"

"As soon as possble," said Donald. "Is th'car fixed?"

"As good as new," said Merlin, joining the conversation. "We can see you all off properly, if need be."

"Tha'd be mighty fine," said Goofy, and smiled as he watched Sora gush about his new kitten to Yuffie. "It's nice that we fin'lly got a path t'go down."

"The best road is always the road that leads to your goal," Merlin said, and smiled; that was a fine saying, for something he had made up on the spot.

Goofy nodded, as Yuffie asked, "So, Sora, what're y'gonna name your kitten?"

"Hm, I dunno," Sora said, and thought for a while. "Wait, I think I got it! I'll name you Simba," he told the kitten.

"Simba, huh?" said Yuffie. "That mean anythin' in particular?"

"I think I read in a book that it's some African language for 'lion'," Sora said, holding the newly-named Simba high in the air, and smiling. "I think it's a good name."

"I agree," Aerith said. "A cat named after a lion is sure to grow up brave, and strong."

Sora smiled, as Faye brushed off her dress.

"Well, I suppose nobody wants cake, now that we have a wee kitten takin' up all the attention," she said, and several vocal protests caused her to smile.

That evening, Sora slept with Simba cuddled against him on the couch, and after a long farewell the next morning, the four of them left Traversa, Illinois, and traveled north, towards Wisconsin.


	3. Carrollville, Wisconsin

Chapter 3

As the car sped onward north, Sora found himself much less bored than he usually was, with his new kitten for companionship. Simba was a playful little cat, and Sora liked to place him on his head, or in the large central pocket of his overalls, and he'd sleep or crawl around as Sora scratched the back of his neck.

The presence of the cat was a rather exciting thing to Goofy, and he'd enjoy having a turn to lavish some affection on the creature whenever they would stop for lunch and sleep, but Donald was having about as much fun as a hobo without shoes. Sora would constantly nag him about the cat, asking he wanted to pet it, or hold it, or feed it (Simba was nourished by their extra pieces of dried sausage, and the occasional dish of milk when they visited diners), and the answer was always a firm "No." However, both Sora and Simba were persistent, and refused to stop bugging Donald about it, and Sora would ask him the questions several times a day.

This was one of those times.

"Hey, Donald, you wanna hold Simba?" he asked.

"No," Donald replied.

"Aww, not even pet him?"

"No."

"Y'wanna look at him?"

"No, no, no, _I said NO!_" Donald said, looking behind him and pounding a fist on the cover of the seat. "Sora, cantcha get it? _I don't like cats!_"

He turned to face the front of the car again, and Sora, although not visible, made the biggest puppy-eyes that anyone had ever seen.

"Awww... c'mon, Donald, you're hurting Simba's feelings..." he whined, holding the kitten up at the back of the seat, who had somehow picked up the mournful expression that Sora was wearing. "Dontcha wanna _look_ at 'im, at least?"

Donald scowled, and glanced to see a goldenrod-colored splot in his peripheral vision. "No," was the reply.

"Too bad! You're lookin' at 'im now!" Sora said, and let go, causing the kitten to tumble down onto Donald's seat, and the man winced. While Goofy was chuckling, Simba regained his balance and looked up at Donald with pale blue eyes, a hopeful expression on his feline face (even though cats aren't very skilled at showing emotion in the first place, but Simba sure got the job done.) Donald inched away a little more, trying not to fall under the kitten's spell; he had been scratched as a child, and held a grudge against all cats since, but...

Simba began crawling onto his lap, and, surprisingly, she showed no resistance.

"...I don't like cats," he said again, as he was scratching Simba on the neck, between the ears.

Goofy and Sora roared with laughter as they entered a beautiful tree-filled area; they had been traveling for about two or three days since leaving Traversa, and were in a part of Wisconsin where there weren't as many farming communities to be found, and green, healthy trees were a common sight. Sora was positively enthralled by the sights, drinking up the scenery at every instance, sometimes pressing his fingers against the glass to get a better look.

The tips that Cid had given them about their boss were proving to be somewhat helpful, as some of the gas stations and diners they passed reported seeing him, and the people who worked there were more than happy to point them in the right direction. Donald was finally beginning to feel more confident that their efforts were paying off towards something, although Goofy was slightly worried that there had been no word on Sora's friend, Kairi. He figured, though, that they'd receive a tip _somewhere_, so it was best to just focus on his first goal, and try to achieve the second along the way.

"Hey, Goofy!" Sora called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "There's a sign ahead! Maybe there's a town!"

Goofy strained his eyes to see there was indeed a sign, painted a cheerful powder blue with magenta letters.

"Welcome to Carrollville," he read. "Huh, that looks nice."

"We should get some gas," Donald said absently, now scratching Simba under the chin.

"And s'more food!" Sora added; he really wanted to get some candy at the next general store they passed, as he still had a considerable amount of his own spending money left in his box.

"Awright, awright, we'll get both," Goofy said. "After all, if this's really a town ahead, th'n it'll be th'first we've been to in quite a while. We'd better stock up, 'ncase w'don't stumble 'pon another town soon."

Donald and Sora nodded in agreement, and the surrounding trees gave way to reveal a beautiful town, so well-kept that it appeared the Depression had never even touched it.

The old-fashioned, white wooden and brick houses, and the white gazebo that stood in the middle of a park wouldn't have looked out of place in a Victorian novel, and the slight sound if people's conversation carried in the air to their car.

"Jiminy Christmas," Donald exclaimed, and Sora reached forward to grab the kitten, so he too could get a look at the frabjous landscape before them.

"Well, I s'ppose there was a town, after all," Goofy said optimistically, and continued to drive the car into the main street. People were walking together, dressed in fine clothes with shades of red, white, and black, an excited expression on their collective faces. A few noticed the car going by, and waved at them going past.

"What're you supposin' they're goin' to?" Goofy asked nobody in particular. "It seems's if they're all headin' somewhere together."

"Let's stop an' ask," Sora suggested. "I mean, why not?"

Goofy shrugged, and brought the car to a stop next to the sidewalk, and got out, as more streams of people began to go by. Sora and Donald followed, Sora carefully placing Simba in the pocket of his overalls.

"Uh, excuse me, ma'am," he asked, approaching one of the women, walking by with a young child in tow, "y'mind tellin' me what's goin' on here? Some kinda festival goin' on?"

"Oh, there's a court case," she replied, smiling a little. "Everybody's excited about it, so we're going to watch."

"Really?" Sora said. "A court case? What happened?"

"Queenie's house got broke into!" the child reported, and his mother covered his mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said, "he's a bit of a blurter. Yes, there was a case of breaking-and-entering."

"Y'don't say," Donald said.

"Who got arrested?" Sora asked.

"A girl!" the boy exclaimed, freeing himself from his mother's hand. "A little girl!"

"Louis, I told you to be quiet!" the woman said, grabbing hold of him tightly. "Isn't he a little dear? You folks should come and watch, it'll be very entertaining."

"Well, 't seems unus'al enough, an' we don' have to be anywhere in a real hurry," Goofy said, thinking over his situation.

"We sh'ld go check it out," Sora said softly, tugging on Goofy's sleeve as Donald said goodbye to the woman for them. "A little girl breakin' into a house? That doesn't sound right."

"Anything could be true," Goofy said. "Donald, whadda you say?"

"I don't see why not," he said. "If anything, we can leave an' get some supplies if 'ts boring."

"Awright, let's follow these people, here," Goofy said. "C'mon, follow me."

The trio, led by Goofy (whose height was attracting a slight amount of attention), made their way to the courthouse, and managed to find seats amongst the townsfolk behind the bar. The trial itself looked like it wasn't going to begin anytime soon, as the judge had yet to arrive, and observatory seats behind the bar had yet to be completely filled (not to mention that the balcony was still very much open).

Sora took this opportunity to take a look at what exactly was going on, and see who exactly was going on trial. To his right, and closest to where he was sitting, sat a plump, discontent-looking woman, who was primping at the black knot of hair secured high on her head with a gold comb. Although she was anything but beautiful, Sora had to admit that her dress was impeccable, a well-tailored affair of black and red, with shiny gold buttons. Her gaze kept darting from her reflection to a small, nervous man with sandy hair that sat beside her, twiddling his thumbs in what was either fear, anticipation, or both. Occasionally, she would turn to glare at the person sitting at the opposite table, and at one such instance, Sora's gaze followed hers.

A young girl sat there, alone and unmoving, with a pitiful look on her face. She probably wasn't much younger than Sora, and had pretty yellow hair that was kept out of her face with a thin black ribbon, and her dress was a simple blue frock. While her melancholy expression was the first thing to capture his attention, the small outburst of the little boy they had seen in the town made him realize that she was in fact the subject of the trial.

It was positively perplexing; why would a little girl be on trial? Had she really broken into that... fat woman's house? Why? And, more importantly, Sora realized... why didn't she have a lawyer?

"Isn't she supposed to have a lawyer?" Sora said, tugging on Goofy's sleeve again and whispering into his ear.

"All rise," the bailiff, a small man with a red bow tie over his police uniform, interrupted, and the inhabitants of the courtroom obeyed (the fat woman doing so with a rather flamboyant puffing of the chest). "The honorable Judge Masters, presiding."

Judge Timothy "Trick" Masters entered the courtroom, gazing around with the beady eyes that sat deep within his thin, oval face. "Be seated," he said, and it was so. Sora kept glancing at the young girl sitting alone, as the bailiff began to read the charges.

"Court is now in session. Case number 52313; Queenie Hearton versus Alice Liddel; breaking and entering, assault, and attempted burglary," he said, and the fat woman gave a hearty cough soon after he was finished, and the short man that sat beside her stood.

"Valentino Hearton, representing Mrs. Hearton, Your Honor," he said, his voice small and reedy.

"That man's her husband!" Goofy said softly, whispering in Donald's ear, but was shushed.

"Miss Liddel, how do you plead?" Judge Masters asked, as there was no amount of silence between his statement and the previous one, confusing Sora even more.

"Not guilty!" she cried. "I swear, I didn't do anything! Please, let me go!"

"Silence!" Judge Masters declared, pounding on his gavel. "Miss Liddel, control yourself in my court."

The girl, now identified as Alice, silenced herself, but the pleading look on her face remained.

"She's supposed to have a lawyer, isn't she?" Sora said, whispering in Goofy's ear. "Right?"

"I suppose," Goofy said. "It seems fair, but I dunno if there's a law f'r it..."

"Have you any evidence to support your plea, Miss Liddel?" Judge Masters asked, and Alice bit her lip.

"Well, no... but I can promise, I was never in Mrs. Hearton's house!" she replied, clasping her hands together. "I'm not even from around here! This is all a mistake, please, let me go!"

"How can you even say that?" the fat woman, Queenie Hearton, said with a scoff. "You tried to steal my jewelry!"

"Ma'am, please, you're telling lies!" Alice said, and the townsfolk gasped, the courtroom filling with chatter: "How dare she!" "That rude little girl!" "She needs to be locked-up!" "Mrs. Hearton would never lie!"

The very injustice of the matter was driving Sora mad, his face growing red as the judge pounded on the gavel, and the courtroom silenced.

"Requesting a decision be made on behalf of the jury, Your Honor," Mr. Hearton said quietly, and Judge Masters glanced at him with a craned neck.

"Decision approved," he said, and looked at the jury. "Have you reached a verdict?"

"Yes, your honor," the jury replied, all unusually in unison. Judge Masters nodded, and opened his mouth to speak.

"What sa-" he began, but a single voice rang out through the courtroom.

"_**OBJECTION!**_"

Sora had gotten up from his seat, and was standing with a determined look on his face, finger pointing firmly in the judge's direction.

"Sora!" Donald exclaimed, reaching to pull the boy down, but Sora wiggled out of reach. The townsfolk tittered in curiosity at this strange new development, and Queenie looked at Sora with astonishment.

"Boy, please sit down and be quiet," the bailiff said, but Sora shook his head.

"This girl should have a lawyer, an' she doesn't have one!" he said, now pointing at Alice. "Someone should be her's so it'll be fair!"

A few murmurs ran throughout the jury box and the mass of observers, and Donald sighed, holding his head in his hand, while Goofy solemnly watched on.

"Yes, she may indeed have a lawyer," Judge Masters said, and his thin face broke into a wicked smirk, "but there were none willing to serve for her."

"That's just unfair!" Sora said, making his way out of his seat and towards the bar. "She should have a lawyer, same's ev'ryone else!"

"Young man, return to your seat!" Queenie demanded, pointing a chubby finger in Sora's direction, but Sora glared (Simba, in his pocket, echoing the expression) and returned his gaze to the judge.

"I told you already, young man, that there are none willing to represent Miss Liddel but herself," Judge Masters said poisonously. "Please return to your seat, or you will be removed."

Sora shook his head firmly, and placed both of his hands on the bar. "If nobody's gonna represent her, then I'm gonna!" he declared, pointing at the judge once more. More mumbles, louder than before, filled the courtroom.

"You? A scrape-kneed little boy with a kitten in his pocket?" Queenie scoffed, crossing her massive arms around her tailored bosom. Sora (and Simba) glared back in defiance, and Alice looked in his direction, the same, desperate look on her face. However, Judge Masters began to softly chuckle.

"Young man, what is your name?" he asked.

"Sora," Sora replied. "Sora Davis."

"Mr. Davis, do you fully intend on defending Miss Liddel?" he asked, and Sora nodded intently. "Then I appoint you her representative," he said, a wide smirk on his face. "Please enter the bar."

Donald wished he could disappear, as Sora was allowed inside the bar, for people were now staring at him and Goofy with very strange looks, indeed. Goofy, however, was the picture of solemnity, and watched as Sora stood next to Alice.

"Mr. Davis, do you know Miss Liddel at all?" Judge Masters asked, and Sora shook his head. "Why do you feel you should defend her, then?"

"This should be a proper trial, y'know," Sora replied, "an' speakin' o' fair trials, shouldn't there be evidence?"

"Do you have any?" the judge said, and Sora hesitantly shook his head.

"Uh, no, Your Honor," he replied. "However, I don' think that Alice was given enough time to get evidence. Can y'give us some time to find some?"

"Preposterous!" Queenie said. "This trial must be over with now! This girl must be punished!"

"...the boy has a point," the judge said, scratching his chin. "All right. I will give you twenty-four hours to acquire sufficient evidence to back up your defense. The court will adjourn at 12 noon, tomorrow."

Queenie sighed and stormed out of the courthouse, her husband/lawyer shuffling quickly behind her. As the judge left, Alice gently touched Sora on the arm, bringing his attention to her.

"...thank you, whoever you are," she said softly, smiling; her large eyes were on the brink of tears.

"I'm Sora, an' you're gonna be okay," he said comfortingly. "Uh, why don't we talk about what happened, so I c'n help you?"

The bailiff appeared behind her, and Alice hesitantly placed her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to talk at the jail, I suppose..." she said. "I've been there since last night..."

Donald and Goofy entered the bar and stood behind him, their faces contrasting in expressions of absolute anger, to absolute placidity.

"Then we'll meet y'there," Sora said, and Alice nodded.

"Thank you," she said again, and was led away. Sora was then promptly socked in the head by Donald, who proceeded to chew him out for his sheer stupidity, but was stopped by Goofy gently saying Sora did the right thing, and leading their way to the jail once they were outside. As they walked down the street together, a man sitting on the steps casually sipped on an open bottle of red wine, and grinned.

"My, this is certainly interesting," he said to himself, "especially when outsiders get involved... on _both_ sides! My, what a treat!"

-///-

"Thank you again for helping me," Alice said, sitting on the other side of a cell in the jailhouse. "I've never seen strangers so kind."

"It's fine," Sora replied. "Now, c'n y'tell me what happened?"

"Well, I was on my way to meet my new parents in Minnesota, y'see," Alice began.

"You're an orphan?" Goofy said, and Alice nodded; he was holding Simba while Sora asked most of the questions.

"Yes, I was adopted only recently. I was being driven there, and we stopped to take a rest," she explained. "When we were outside, I saw this rabbit run by, so I followed it! It was such a pretty little thing. And the next thing I know, I'm in this town, terribly lost. So, the nearest house was Mrs. Hearton's, so I made my way over to ask for directions back."

"What happened after that?" Sora asked, hearing a long pause.

"Well, I knocked on the door an' waited for a reply," Alice explained, "when I saw this plate of cookies on the porch that had a little sign that said 'Complimentary' on them. And that means 'For Free' right?"

"Sure does," Donald said. "Y'can't mean that y'got in trouble for eatin' a cookie, can ya?"

"No, no, it wasn't that," Alice said. "I had a cookie, and while I was eatin' it, this... lanky man in a suit came crashing out the door, with this briefcase in his hand, an' Mrs. Hearton came rushing out after him."

"A man, y'say?" Sora said, and Alice nodded intently.

"I think that she couldn't get him, so she blamed me for whatever he tried to steal," she said. "I just want to get to my home... I'm sure the men from the orphanage and my new parents are both very worried for me." Her face fell, and Sora furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.

"Don't worry," he said. "You're gonna go home, I promise. We'll find good evidence for you."

"Oh, I hope so," Alice said, sadness continuing to pour out of her expression. "This is really awful..."

"Don't be down, sweetheart," Goofy said, kneeling and holding out Simba. "Here, if you want, Simba c'n keep y'some company 'til we come back, okay?"

Reaching her hands through the bars of the jail, Alice accepted the small cat, who promptly curled up in her lap, and she smiled slightly.

"Thank you all," she said. "Be back soon, please."

"O'course," Sora said, smiling and standing up. "Awright, let's find some evidence!"

-///-

Easier said than done.

"I can't believe it!" Donald said, resisting the urge to throw his cap on the ground. "This whole damn town's useless!"

"Donald, watch your language, there's children about," Goofy warned, sighing and adjusting his vest a little.

They had spent the better half of two hours asking around for people willing to be witnesses, at least, and were met with relentless opposition. Everyone from the hat-seller to a pair of obese twins had been asked, and none of them were willing to testify against Queenie.

It was revealed that she was an active member in the church, lead singer of the choir, head of many a town meeting, and undoubtedly the bossiest person they had ever heard about. Anyone that disagreed with her was quickly brought to court, where proceedings were hastened (in a nearly illegal way) so that nobody's time would be wasted beyond that of the entertaining.

From what they had heard, Sora's little outburst was quite the talk of the town, but anything further than what he had already done would make the court case drag on much too far. Many advised him to give up and let Alice get her punishment (a night or two in jail, at the most), but Sora refused. Although he had little to no experience in law, justice was justice, as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't going to let this pushy woman get away with anything. Donald and Goofy were rather tired of it, however.

"Sora, we sh'ld just ask fer a lighter sentence, an' leave it at that," Goofy suggested, but Sora shook his head.

"I'm sure that there's some sorta evidence I c'n find!" he said. "We're jus' not lookin' hard enough!"

"Sora..." Donald sighed. "C'mon, we sh'd try an' find somewhere to stay for th'night, at least."

"If you wanna do that, that's fine," Sora said, crossing his arms as they passed the courthouse. "I'm gonna still try an'-"

"If it's evidence... you're looking for... why not go to... the scene of... the crime?"

A slurred, drunken voice from the steps called out to them, and all three saw a man, red wine staining an otherwise white shirt, with a plastered grin on his face.

"Excuse me?" Sora said.

"You-u know," the man said, and laughed. "Go to Que-enie's... house. I bet... you'll find lots... of evidence... there..."

He erupted in an insane burst of chuckling, and took another swig from his bottle.

"I suppose th'drunk's got a point," Donald said tersely. "We sh'd check out tha' woman Queenie's house."

"Then let's go!" Sora cried. "Hey, you, where's Queenie's house?"

"Where... do you think!" the drunk exclaimed, beginning to laugh again. "Biggest... biggest house... biggest house here! Hah!"

Taking another drink, Sora remembered that they had passed a very large white house, with red and white rose bushes in the front, and immediately marched down the road in its direction, Donald and Goofy chasing him behind.

"Go-od luck!" called the drunk, and laughed as he took yet another drink.

Arriving at Queenie's house, Sora and the men were relieved to find the place quiet, as Queenie had gone out to buy some things with her husband.

"I hope this wouldn't count as trespassin'," Goofy said, and Sora shook his head.

"Naw, we got a reason t'be here. It's fine," he said. "Now, what can w'look at for evidence?"

"Footprints? Fingerprints?" Donald offered. "I dunno, you're th'one that's suppos' t'be lookin' for evidence, Sora."

Sora frowned, but as they approached the porch, something caught his attention. "Hey, look over here!" he said. "There's footprints here, dirty ones!"

Indeed, a muddy trail of footprints led from the inside of the house to the lawn, and from the length of the prints themselves and the distance between them, it looked as if whoever owned them had been running when they made them.

"Didn't Alice say that th'man that came outta the house was running?" Sora remarked, and Donald and Goofy both nodded. "Then we got our evidence!"

"Sora, that's jus' one piece o' evidence," Goofy said. "We gotta find more."

"Well, I can't think of any!" Sora protested. "We can't break into her house, cos that's illegal."

"Why don't we just go back to the jailhouse?" Donald suggested. "It's gonna get dark soon, an' we still need a place t'stay!"

Sora sighed, unhappily accepting this defeat. "Awright, fine," he said. "At least we got footprints..."

As they passed the courthouse, the drunk was still there, nearly finished with his bottle.

"Any luck?" he asked, and laughed.

"Just footprints," Sora replied. "Better'n nothin'."

"You should find a... a witness!" the drunk said.

"Who was around, other than Alice?" Donald replied. "We already asked ev'ryone."

"Not me-e..." the drunk replied, and burst into laughter again. "I was there!"

"You swear it?" Goofy said, and the man nodded vigorously.

"I swears!" he replied. "An' I was rone stold cober! Hah!"

Laughing, Sora knelt down and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What's your name, old man?" he asked.

"Chester. Chester Katt," he replied, but the slurring of his words made his name sound something more like "Chessherr..."

"Uh, okay, Mr. Katt," Sora said, slightly confused. "Y'think y'can come in t'morrow an' testify for us?"

Chester shrugged. "Iff'n I sleep enough to... to get this booze off... heh," he replied.

"The trial's at noon," Donald said. "Y'better show up by then."

Chester lolled over a little, and grinned. "Y'can bet on... on that, pal... ol' chum... yeah..."

"Jus' show up, okay?" Sora said, and Chester nodded intently.

"Oh, you can... you can bet on that, kid," he said. "Go an' tell... an' tell the lil' girl wha's goin' on."

"O'course," Sora said. "12 noon t'morrow."

"Na-aturally," Chester replied, and waved at them as they walked away.

"Y'think that's a wise decision to be makin'?" Donald asked, as they made their way down the street.

"'sbetter'n nothing," Sora said, and when they arrived at the jailhouse to retrieve Simba, Alice was positively ecstatic to hear the news.

-///-

The next day, Sora was at the courthouse about 15 minutes before noon, after picking up Alice at the jail for the trial. Donald and Goofy sat patiently behind the bar, Simba napping well-behavedly in Goofy's lap, as the courthouse slowly began to fill with people.

Queenie and her husband entered and cast dirty looks at Sora and Alice as she took her seat, while her husband did nothing but twiddle his thumbs upon sitting. The meek-looking bailiff glanced around the courtroom as noon approached, pulling out a golden pocket watch practically every minute, and dabbing at his bald head with a handkerchief.

When noon came and went, Judge Masters was nowhere to be found, and for that matter, neither was Chester.

"Oh dear, oh dear; he's late, he's late," the bailiff said, looking around nervously.

"Where's Chester?" Sora said, looking around as well. "It's past noon."

"That's the man that's gonna help us out, right?" Alice asked, and Sora nodded. "Oh, I hope he shows up."

A sound from further back in the room signaled the presence of Judge Masters, and the bailiff said quickly, "All rise!"

Judge Masters stormed in the room. "Be seated," he said sternly, taking his place in the courtroom; he had a bit too much whiskey the night before, and it was beginning to take its toll. "Mr. Davis, have you acquired your evidence?"

"I have, Your Honor," Sora replied, still rather worried that Chester hadn't shown up yet. "I also have a witness, but, uh, he's not here yet."

A few people chuckled, and Judge Masters raised an eyebrow. "Who exactly is this witness of yours?" he asked.

"Chester Katt, sir, reporting in," came a voice, as Chester arrived in the courtroom, remarkably well-groomed, with a new shirt on and a cap.

"Is this th'same person?" Donald asked Goofy, and Goofy nodded.

"Looks like he cleaned himself up just fer this," he replied.

"Ah! Chester!" Sora said. "Thanks f'showing up,"

"No problem," Chester said, taking off his cap to reveal a well-oiled crop of dark red hair, a stark difference from the mop of dirty brown hair of the previous day. "Your Honor, I'm here to testify on Alice's behalf. Can we begin asking questions?"

"Mr. Davis...?" Judge Masters said, as Sora was standing rather slack-jawed there. "It's your call."

"Oh, uh, yes. Mr. Katt, I call you to th'witness stand, or something," Sora said, and Chester nodded, entering the bar. The bailiff produced a bible, and held it out for Chester to swear upon.

"D'you swear to tell the whole truth an' nothing but the truth, so help you, God?" he asked.

"That an' then some," Chester said, grinning.

"Take the stand, please," said the bailiff, and Chester did so. There was a bit of silence, before Sora realized that he was supposed to be asking questions, and moved in front of the stand.

"Uh, Chester, where were you when Alice was, uh, breakin' in to Mrs. Hearton's house?" he asked.

"Sittin' in the park, o'course," Chester replied smoothly. "I heard a commotion, so I walked over to see what was going on. I saw this man running out of Queenie's house, and she started yelling and saying 'Burgler, burgler! This girl is a burgler!' while holding onto poor little Alice's arm. And, as far as I could see, she didn't do a thing!"

"And where did that man go?" Sora asked.

"Oh, he ran off somewhere, but I bet he was the one that was to blame," he said.

"We have evidence o' footprints on Mrs. Hearton's porch, Your Honor," Sora said. "They're too big to be Alice's, an' they're runnin' out into the lawn." The members of the jury nodded thoughtfully, as Queenie scoffed quietly; preposterous! This wasn't going to go anywhere. Anything they tried to say wouldn't change the fact that she was going to be the victor in this trial. "Chester, d'you believe Alice'ld rob Mrs. Hearton?"

"Absolutely not," he replied. "However, I do believe that Mrs. Hearton is one to blame others for things she cannot easily solve herself."

"Objection!" Queenie cried, standing up and pounding her meaty fist on the table.

"Mrs. Hearton, I do believe you are not a lawyer in this case," Judge Masters said, and Queenie's eyes grew wide; she had just been denied! How dare he! "Mr. Hearton," the judge continued, "do you object?"

"...n-no, Your Honor..." he said, and there was an audible gasp. What in the world was going on?

"Uh, would you like to elaborate, Mr. Katt?" Sora asked.

"Oh goodness, where do I begin?" Chester said, and began to speak.

The man who had been ignored and disregarded as a raving lunatic and a drunk throughout the community began to speak openly and unabashedly against Queenie, with surprising eloquence that none expected of him. Mr. Hearton was too shocked to object, much to Queenie's dismay, and only after Sora had stated he had said enough did he stop.

"Thank you, Chester," he said, and Chester grinned.

"My pleasure," he replied, and stepped off the stand.

"Uh, no more witnesses, I guess," Sora said, and sat down next to Alice as Chester went behind the bar and left the courthouse. There was a thick silence for quite, until Judge Masters cleared his throat.

"Mr. Hearton, do you have any witnesses to call to the stand?" he asked, and Queenie nudged her husband sharply with her elbow.

"...n-no, Y-Your Honor," he stuttered, and Queenie gasped.

"Well I never!" she declared.

"Do we, uh, need to make closing statements'r whatever?" Sora asked, and Judge Masters rubbed his chin for a small while.

"I don't feel it's necessary..." Mr. Hearton said, and very nearly received a slap to the face from Queenie's handbag.

"All right then," said Judge Masters. "The jury will meet to reach a verdict."

As the members of the jury shuffled off to the meeting room, Judge Masters retreated to his own room, and was gone for a long while, even after the jury had returned. When he finally did come back to the room, he hastily said, "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honor," one of the men said, standing and handing the piece of paper to the bailiff, who in turn handed it to the judge, who glanced at it.

"All rise," he said, and everyone did; Sora crossed his fingers, hoping that Chester's speech had helped. "In the case of Queenie Hearton versus Alice Liddel, the defendant has been found... guilty as charged. Take her into custody, bailiff."

"What?" the jury cried. "That wasn't our-"

"Take her _away_, bailiff," Judge Masters commanded, leaving the room.

"I'm terribly sorry, miss," the bailiff said, handcuffing Alice with tears in his eyes. "I hope that you get outta jail soon..."

As she was paraded out of the building, dissent rising in every member of the courtroom (minus Queenie, of course, who puffed in pride), Alice looked at Sora and smiled.

"Thank you so much for helping," she said, and was gone.

-///-

"That's just unfair! I don't believe this!" Sora said, stomping on the steps as the left the courthouse. "Why didn't we win?"

"Sounds t'me like the trial w's rigged," Goofy said. "Didn't the jury say tha' wasn't what they decided?"

"It's true," said a familiar voice, and they saw Chester sitting on the steps again, a bottle of whiskey labeled "Lady Luck" in his hand. "They did say that."

"Chester, wha's goin' on?" Sora asked.

"Even though I helped out, this place still's got a lotta injustice," he said, and took a sip; his language had become much more casual with the addition of the alcohol. "At least th'people're thinkin' straighter."

"Wha's gonna happen to Alice?" Goofy asked, and Chester shrugged.

"She'll prob'ly be released in a day're two. No need t'worry," Chester replied, but in his mind, he knew that what he had seen behind the courthouse while the jury was debating boded ill for the innocent little girl.

-///-

Judge Masters took off his robe and sighed, stepping out onto the lawn behind the courthouse.

"And the verdict...?" a voice said from nearby.

"Guilty, as you asked," the judge replied. "Is that all?"

"That, and the girl," the voice replied. "My men will handle her soon."

"Then leave us be," said the judge, and turned to look at the tan, darkly-handsome man standing before him, his sharp black suit a direct contrast to his soft surroundings.

"Of course. I left the money in your office. Thank you for cooperating," he said smoothly, nodding his head.

Wearily, the judge nodded in reply, and the man turned to leave.

-///-

In a police vehicle driving through town, Alice uneasily glanced at the men in black suits sitting at either side of her. She said nothing, anticipating another night on the cold, concrete floor, when she realized that they had passed the jailhouse completely.

"Say, aren't you supposed to be taking me to the jailhouse?" she asked, but when there was no reply, she began to panic. "Where are we going? You're not the police! Who are you, where are-"

A pad of cotton soaked with ether was shoved over her face and nose, and the young heiress of of Hart's fortune fell unconscious.

-///-

Phoenix Wright, anyone? I couldn't resist.

Just a quick author's note here.

Wow, I can't believe all the positive feedback I'm getting! Thank you all so much for the reviews!  
Now that I'm delving into Disney territory here, I think I'll have an easier time of writing, so there won't be such a long time between updates. God, I'm excited! I'm enjoying this as much as you guys, I think. :DD  
So, enjoy the update!! See you whenever the next chapter gets done.

Olympus Coliseum... oh boy!!


	4. Olympa, Indiana

Chapter 4

A glum atmosphere hung over the car as the men sped away from Carrollville.

After remembering the reason for being there in the first place, following the trial, Donald and Goofy asked Chester if he knew anything about their boss. Chester reported somewhat vaguely that he had seen him (as he was quick to become inebriated, and his intelligence melted away faster than chocolate in the sun), and said that he heard he had left for Olympa, Indiana, supposedly to catch a boxing match.

Advising them to skip town, or risk the wrath of Queenie's handbag, they fueled up the car, got some food from the grocery store, and were quickly on their way again. Chester spent the rest of the day on the steps of the courthouse, where he had been the previous day, laughing at the citizens of the town and waiting for another opportunity to turn the social hierarchy upside-down.

Sora lay on his back and held Simba in the air, hoping the best for Alice, as the trees of the surrounding landscape slowly disappeared and gave way to the rural areas of Illinois.

Olympa was a rather large city in Indiana, and it would only take a day or so to reach after crossing the border, so after stopping for the night by the side of the road, they entered Indiana and drove for another day. The steady increase of homes that were passed signaled that Olympa wasn't far ahead, and Sora's mood shifted quite dramatically as he realized what lay in store.

"Say, Olympa's a big city, right?" he asked.

"Biggest we've been't, yet," Goofy replied. "Why d'ye ask?"

"...can we see a boxing match? _Plea-ase?_" Sora whined, throwing his arms over the top of the seat. "I'll pay for my own ticket, I swear!"

"Sora, y'know that'd just take us off course," Donald said sourly.

"But we gotta check in w'thall the boxing arenas, Donald," Goofy noted, turning the wheel as they drove down a curve. "R'member what Chester told us? Said that Boss was here for boxing."

"We shouldn't listen to whatever a drunk tells us," Donald said, crossing his arms, "but it wouldn't help t'look, anyways."

"Can we still see a match?" Sora continued, sticking his neck a bit further down between them.

"No," Donald began, but was interrupted as Goofy said, "If we c'n find th'time, then I don't see why not."

"YAY!" Sora cheered, flopping back onto his seat and holding Simba close.

"Goofy, why'd y'go an'-" Donald began, but Goofy began to chuckle.

"C'mon, Donald, th'kid's gon' pay for his own ticket," he said. "B'sides, we should enjoy some real en'ertainm'nt while we're here."

"Hmph," said Donald. "How long till we get there? It's gonna get dark soon."

"Not fer another hour, Donald, 'ccordin' t'th'sign we passed not long ago," Goofy replied. "B'sides, the thing t'remember abou' cities is that when the sun sets, y'can see it glowin' there. It's kinda helpful. I think we'll arrive in time t'find a motel'r somethin'."

"We'd better," Donald replied.

As Goofy had predicted, by the time night fell, the glow of a city on the horizon heralded the approach of Olympa. The sight was positively heavenly for Donald, and no sooner had they entered were they snug inside a lovely hotel, Sora happily placed in his own bed for the first time in a good while (having slept on a couch during their stay in Carrollville).

-///-

The next morning, after a small breakfast at a local restaurant, the three began asking people about the local boxing scene.

They quickly discovered that the only boxing arena in town was the aptly named "Olympus Coliseum," for the head honcho of the place was a formidable boxer that went by the name of "Hercules." The information from the locals was strengthened by the mass of posters plastered on buildings, advertising a boxing match that was going to be held that evening; it appeared to be the final round of a competition that had been going on the previous month.

The prize was a match with Hercules himself, as well as a hefty prize of $300, donated by Zachariah "Zeus" Chronus, the politician father of Hercules (whose real name was Henry, but, like his father, his pseudonym was so popular that he was known everywhere by it.)

Should Hercules be bested, $500 would be added to the sum, which would be desirable by anyone in such times.

Zeus, as he was fondly known to the public, was running for mayor of Olympa against his brother, Hayland (not-so-fondly known as "Hades" by most people, due to his cold nature), and Sora could hardly turn his head without seeing an image of his bearded, grandfatherly face on a campaign poster somewhere. Only rarely did any of the three see the somber, no-nonsense posters of blue lettering that advertised Hades' campaign, most of them pasted over with Zeus propaganda.

"Vote Zeus!" the signs cheerfully proclaimed, as the three made their way down the street towards the arena (as it was only a walking distance from their hotel).

"This match mus' be awful good advertising for th'elections," Donald noted. "Givin' that prize away an' all."

"Yeah! If only we could-a come sooner," Sora said, cradling Simba a little closer in his arms (since none of them trusted the kitten to keep out of trouble alone in their hotel room). "I would-a blasted away th'competition!"

"Really, now," Donald said skeptically.

"Y'like boxin', Sora?" Goofy asked, and Sora nodded intently.

"Used t'duke it out with Tidus an' Ri-" he began, but stopped as soon as he was reminded of his former best friend, and his face fell. Donald sighed, not wanting to be a part of it, but Goofy placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and smiled.

"Cheer up, Sora," he said. "Why don't we catch th'match t'night?"  
"Goofy, we don'-" Donald began, but Goofy interrupted.

"Who says we don't have the time'r not?" he said. "It's jus' one match. We c'n leave by t'morrah'f we need to."

Donald was silent for a while, before bursting out, "I'm not payin' for th'ticket!"

"Donald, th'match's free," Goofy said gently, and Sora erupted in a fit of giggles as Donald eyed one of the posters and found it was true.

"...achh!" he said, in a strange utterance that was somewhere in the middle of a cough, a scream, and a growl. Stomping off, Sora and Goofy couldn't help but laugh as they located the arena, and questioned the man in the box office about whether or not he had sighted their boss. However, it seemed that Chester was spouting nonsense, as nobody fitting the description that Donald and Goofy had provided had come to purchase a ticket to any of the matches being held.

Donald was quick to propose that they leave and try to find another lead in another town, but Sora's pouting expression and Goofy's defense persuaded him to rethink the decision and stay for the evening, so they all could have some fun. Simba greatly aided in keeping Donald placated, as he sat with the kitten in his lap, reading the newspaper in the hotel room while Goofy and Sora went sight-seeing.

At last, evening approached. The match was scheduled to begin at 6, so the three decided to get a bite of supper at 4, and grab their seats at 5, so they could beat the crowds. Sora tucked Simba carefully in his front pocket, and energetically marched towards the arena with Donald and Goofy close behind. The place was mercifully empty, and the trio took seats right at the front of the audience, and Sora jittered with excitement until a loud, broad voice filled the room.

" 'ey! What're you three doin' in here? This is special-invitation _only_."

A short, portly man with hairy arms and balding red hair stomped up to them, a cigar clenched between his teeth; surprisingly, he was around the same height as Donald, who was merely 5' 2".

"Uh, what?" Sora said.

"Special. Invitation," the man repeated, crossing his arms and chewing on his cigar. "D'I need t'rpeat it fer you numbskulls? Get outta here."

"I thought this was a free show!" Sora protested, waving his arms around. "Just who'n th'world are you?"

"Phil Titus, Herc's manager an' pers'nal trainer," the man replied gruffly. "Listen, kid, you an' the two fellas with y'd better get out, or I'll call the cops on ya."

"Well, why should w'leave?" Goofy asked.

"Two words: V-I-P," Phil said. "Y'gotta have a pass t'get in. Don't suppose you gents got any, eh?" The three stood around rather stupidly, not having any passes to show. "Then get _out,_" Phil said, and begrudgingly, the three exited.

"This's unbelievable!" Sora complained, crossing his arms (careful to avoid where Simba was snuggled). "It said it was a free show!"

"I'm sorry, Sora, but we couldn't-a known," Goofy said. "We'll go to th'picture-show instead, how 'bout tha-?"

"Oh, so, so sad," a smooth voice from nearby said, and a well-dressed man in black, with a sharp nose and a sly expression, appeared from around the corner to the box office, a grin on his sallow face. "Not able to attend, due to a loophole? Tsk tsk, very unfortunate." Donald glared at the man, who began to approach them. "What if, say, you had some passes to get in?"

"Passes?" Sora said. "Y'mean those V.I.P. passes'r something?"

"Bingo, kid," the man said, reaching into his jacket and pulling out three large, white tickets. "You're a sharp one, aintcha? Here y'go."

He extended a bony hand towards Sora and the men, wiggling the tickets somewhat enticingly in the air. "C'mon, no strings attached. It's a gift. Y'wanna get in, doncha?" he said, after Sora eyed it suspiciously and shook his head.

"No strings, huh?" said Donald, taking them and looking at them; they appeared legitimate, indeed. "Who exactly're you?"

"Hayland Chronus," he said eloquently, tipping his cap and smiling again, jagged yellow teeth showing through his thick, curled lips, "president of Charon Industries, and candidate for mayor of this... lovely little town."

"Hey, you're that Hades guy!" Sora said, the name that seemed vaguely familiar now registering itself in his mind, and Hades grimaced.

"So it seems that even the tourists know that stupid nickname now, jeesh," he said to himself, before continuing. "Yes, that's a nickname o'mine. Consider those tickets there a gift from me. Seeing that you're tourists, y'won't be voting for me, but hey! Charity's charity."

"I s'ppose it is," Goofy said optimistically. "Will y'be attendin' the match, Mr. Chronus?"

"You kidding? Of course," Hades replied cheerily. "I hope t'see you three there. Ta-ta!"

Waving, he entered the building, and Donald hesitantly gave Sora and Goofy their passes.

"Don't suppose this is suspicious, is it?" he asked.

"I hope not," Goofy said. "If anythin', it's jus' charity, an' we sh'ld treat it as such."

Sora nodded eagerly in reply, and suddenly cheered. "C'mon!" he said. "We got a boxin' match to watch!"

-///-

Hades, sitting in his prime seat at the Coliseum as the crowd milled in around him, was very pleased indeed.

This was the night he had been waiting for for quite a while, and it was here that his political career would be either made or broken. He knew full well that the contest was sponsored by his dear younger brother, and hence, it was good advertising for his campaign. What Zeus didn't count on, though, was the fact that Hades had a trick up his sleeve, and a marvelous one at that.

Hades had a long-standing grudge against his brother, ever since their father's will had left him the family company, yet gave Zeus the majority of the money. Hades had to work to get to the level of wealth that his brother had come into, and the fact that he had enjoyed a rather lengthy political career thus far was positively maddening. He had tried to run once before, only to be mercilessly defeated; this time, though, Hades was convinced that what he had planned was going to work out very nicely.

Getting up, he passed into the back of the arena, where the boxers were warming up. Phil was giving Hercules a quick pep-talk, while Hades' own "warrior" was seated quietly in a chair, thinking to himself with his hands laced beneath his nose.

The man (of rather slight stature, with words slighter still) had been discovered during a scuffle that had happened during a lunchtime break, where Hades observed what was potentially a powerhouse of force, As quickly as possible, Hades sweet-talked him into a deal that included a bonus in his pay, should he participate in the tournament. As he was one of the desperate men that had arrived from Illinois a few months back, he was all too quick to agree, and had surged through the boxing tournament, not letting anyone get in his way. Hades had allowed for the prize money to go to the man, once he had qualified for the prize; the humiliation that Zeus was going to suffer at the hands of his son's defeat was worth more than all the money in the world.

"Hey, buddy, y'ready for th'big match?" he asked, and his employee looked up.

"Yes," he said. Hades twisted his eyebrows; okay, so he wasn't the most sociable person. At least he was a damn good boxer.

"Remember, it's all or nothin' on this match," he said. "Beat Hercules, or that bonus won't be yours. Y'got it?"

"Really," he replied, the question sounding like a statement. "I thought I was already gettin' a bonus for bein' in the tournament."

"Well, this is a second one," Hades said smoothly. "That $500 prize? Remember? That, there, is a bonus."

"Ah," came the reply. "Never really thought o'that."

Hades scowled a little. "You takin' this seriously, buddy?" he asked, and the man nodded. "Then why aren't you being a little, more, I dunno, _critical_ of this situation here?"

"I am," the man replied. "I need to think for a while."

"Fine, have your thoughts," Hades said, and strolled away. "Jeesh, what a stiff." Exiting the arena, he smiled poisonously as he approached his car, where his beloved pet was waiting.

"Hey, Cerberus!" he said, peering in the car. "Are you ready to watch a boxing match, fella?"

-///-

"Go-od evening, folks, and welcome to the final match of the Chronus Tornament!" the cheerful radio announcer spoke into the microphone, delivering his message to homes all across the states. "This is Gabriel Hermez, here, announcing for you at home to hear!"

Adjusting his glasses a little, he spoke again. "We've got to thank ol' Zeus Chronus for lettin' us all have a splendid time of this. Remember, folks! November's just around the corner, so know who you're gonna vote for!" A quintet of young black women, renowned singers from the local church, began to sing a bouncy jingle as a part of their advertisement, and Gabriel continued on. "So, folks, as some of you may remember, we had ourselves a winner just last week, didn't we? Yes, we sure did. Ladies and gentlemen, Cloud Strife has shown up out of _nowhere_ and completely lashed the competition! Did you expect that, because I sure didn't!"

In the ring, the slight blond man entered the ring, dressed in a dark sleeveless shirt and red boxing pants; cheers were heard everywhere, Sora keen on being one of the loudest. He raised his glove in recognition, and proceeded to stand in his corner of the ring.

"And, of course, our reigning champion... HER-RCU-ULE-ES!!"

The carrot-haired youth entered the arena, and the crowd exploded in cheers. Hercules drank up the attention, waving his gloved hand at them several times and bowing, before taking his place in his corner of the ring. Justice Minerva Athene, a local judge and boxing enthusiast, was volunteering to be referee in the match, and she stared the two men down.

"I want a nice, clean match, you two," she said sternly, as the men approached the center of the ring. "The rules are plain and simple; first to win three rounds is the victor, knocked-down for ten seconds determines the loser of each round. First to be knocked-out loses all rounds. Ready?"

The two nodded, and readied their fists as Minerva raised a hand, then quickly swiped it down as a bell rang out. Cloud and Hercules began to prance around the ring, jabbing at each other and dodging lithely, as Gabriel provided the commentary. Finally a blow was struck; Hercules had hit Cloud squarely in the cheek, and the blond fell to the floor, quick to rise back with a jab to the shoulder. The two men seemed to be equally matched, which pleased Hades after Cloud had been hit; it had slightly worried him, but he was confident Cloud would be the victor.

Another blow to the face knocked Cloud to the ground, making Hercules the victor of that round, and the crowd cheered. As Cloud got back up, wiping the blood off his mouth, Hades rushed forward and whispered a few harsh words of warning, but Cloud didn't hear. The injury was enough to incite his rage, and no sooner had the second round begun that he already had hit Hercules in the eye, causing many a gasp to be heard in the audience. Reeling slightly, Hercules charged forward to retaliate, but Cloud landed a quick punch to the ribs and gut, and sent Hercules to the ground, where he stayed for a good many seconds. The second round, then, belonged to Cloud.

"I don't believe this, folks!" Gabriel said, adjusting his small round glasses and grinning in unexpected excitement. "Hercules has been knocked down for the first time by a contender! I don't believe this!"

Phil gave Hercules some surprisingly gentle words of encouragement, before yelling at him to "get off your back an' fight like a man, dammit!"

The third round of the fight was absolutely riveting, as both men had taken blows and were unwilling to fight; Hercules, to preserve his status, and Cloud, for the money. They dodged and pranced around for several minutes, before Cloud was the first, again, to receive damage. It brought him to one knee, and he quickly stood up again, but he knew by then that he was fighting a losing battle, panting heavily and sweating. Hades could see it as well, and nervously glanced around as he fingered a small whistle in his pocket.

Cloud took another punch, and another, when suddenly there came a ravenous growling noise, and a black pit bull came bounding into the ring. Cerberus, Hades' faithful hound, wiggled his way through the ropes of the ring, and Hercules and Cloud both stopped to step aside and stare in horror at the thing. Cerberus licked his chops expectantly and growled; he had been called by his master, and awaited further orders.

Two short blasts: attack. And the dog did. Unfortunately, he latched on to the wrong target.

Taking hold of Cloud's left arm and biting hard, the crowd gasped as Gabriel relayed the situation to horrified listeners. A few women screamed as blood ran down Cloud's arm, and Hercules bounded forth to try and get the dog away. A swift blow to the head detached dog from man, but Cerberus was quick to rebound, and snapped at Hercules in retaliation. Athena made a few swipes at the dog, but found that her attempts were as unsuccessful as the rest. Donald and Goofy began to flee with a few other members of the crowd, but Sora found he was frozen, watching the spectacle, Simba observing, wide-eyed, from his pocket.

"Sora, get outta here! That dog's dang'rous!" Donald yelled, grabbing Sora by the arm, but something happened that caused Sora to jerk away: Simba had wiggled and leaped out of his pocket, and into the ring.

"SIMBA!" Sora cried, running towards the kitten, who had leaped through the ropes and was approaching the dog. Cerberus seemed to notice, and stopped to stare at the tiny thing, while Hercules quickly ushered Cloud out of the ring. People peered over chairs and their seats, watching as the adorable kitten and the beastly dog confronted each other.

Simba mewed.

And Cerberus ran, scared out of his wits by the tiny cat.

"Simba!" said Sora, running up and gathering Simba in his arms. "Don't ever do that again, don't ever!"

The boy stood in the center of the ring in silence for a brief moment, before unexpected cheers filled the air. Whether they were cheering for the cat or the owner of the cat, nobody knew, but Gabriel was quick to report the miraculous event.

"A cat! A cat an' a boy saved Hercules!" he cheered, and the quintet began to sing a chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," for good measure.

As Hercules was led off by Phil, Cloud clutching his arm and hanging off his shoulder, he couldn't help but smile. "Who's that kid, Phil? Do y'know?" he asked.

Phil took a moment to peer over and look at the boy standing there, and realized that it was the kid that didn't have a V.I.P. pass, last he checked. How'd he get in? "Your guess's as good as mine, kid," he replied, then addressing Cloud. "Y'all right, kid? Got bit up pretty bad."

Cloud didn't say a word, but nodded as they took him back and called for a doctor to treat his wound.

Later that evening, Hercules and Minerva announced that Cloud was the victor, and was to be the recipient of the $500 prize. Hades couldn't have been unhappier, humiliated that even though his man had won, Hercules' (and consequently, Zeus') image had been all but improved.

-///-

Needless to say, Sora was very perplexed to find he and Simba had been invited to a party in his honor following the match.

Zeus, hearing word of the match through his radio, quickly arranged for a get-together at his house to celebrate the deed, and have an excuse to let everyone get happily drunk on champagne (generously provided by Charles Bacchus, owner of a local brewery and several vineyards in California).

Simba as arguably the center of attention, being fawned-over by several women (protectively being held by Diana, a local policewoman). Sora managed to bring himself away from the action, and found himself speaking rather warmly with Hercules about boxing in general, and having a wonderful time of it (as well as receiving warm hugs from Hercules' mother, Hera, and his aunt, aptly named Aphrodite).

"M'boy, I'm certainly in your debt," Zeus said, striding up to the two after sharing a conversation with Gabriel. "Thanks t'you, my son's quite safe."

"I think y'should thank m'cat, Mr. Chronus," Sora said sheepishly, smiling. Zeus chuckled.

"Humility, what an honorable trait," he said. "Diana! Bring th'boy his cat."

The policewoman broke away from the crowd, cradling the kitten in his arms. "If you honestly ask me, you really _are_ the reason that monstrous dog didn't hurt anyone else," she said. "God knows how it got in the arena in the first place, but it's true."

Sora took Simba back from her, and fondly stroked his ears. "Simba did all th'work, y'know," he said.

"Yes, but you brought him in the first place," Diana beamed. "Really, I love seeing people so devoted to their pets, so as to bring the to boxing matches with them!"

"T'tell the truth," Sora said, "I can't really trust him to be alone yet! He'd cause too much trouble!"

He and Diana laughed, as Zeus clasped him firmly by the shoulder. "Boy, if there's anything I can possibly do for you, don't hesitate to ask."

"Well..." Sora said, thinking over his options, Diana leaving to chat with Minerva, then realizing something. "...wait, do you think you could help me with something?"

"If it's possible, boy, I'll try my best," Zeus said, smiling. "What is it?"

"See, I have a friend... she's an orphan, y'see, an' her parents couldn't take care of her anymore, so she got sent away to a factory," Sora said. "D'you know anybody 'round here that took in new workers recently?"

"Hm, she around your age?" Zeus asked, and Sora nodded eagerly, hopeful. "Sorry, son, but the only business that took in some new workers is my brother's, and they were all grown men." Sora's face fell, and Zeus's heart practically melted. "Don't be down, son; if I knew anyone, I'd do anything in my power to help."

"Well... then, maybe y'can help m'friends," Sora said, craning his neck and searching for Donald's mop of white hair (as Goofy was outside, getting a breath of fresh air). "They're lookin' for their boss, and we got a tip tha' he was here not long ago. Why doncha talk with them?"

"I don't see why not, if it would mean something to you," Zeus said. "Take care, son."

-///-

Goofy felt rather overwhelmed at the party, seeking a bit of breathing space by walking outside and looking at the stars, thinking about his family, and how much he wanted to see them. However, he suddenly realized he wasn't alone.

"Y'don't like parties either?" he asked the blond-haired man sitting on the porch swing, and Cloud laughed a little.

"Noticed I was here, huh?" he said, and Goofy nodded.

"How's yer arm?" he asked, and Cloud shrugged.

"Could-a been worse," he replied, fingering the bandages a little. "When it heals, I'm gonna go home. That money an' the pay I've been savin' is more than enough to help."

"Illinois, right?" Goofy said, and Cloud looked at him, somewhat astonished.

"How did you-" he began, and Goofy smiled.

"I'm a good lis'ner," he replied. "That Gabriel guy said you was from Illinois. Traversa, right? I think tha's what he said."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, but I've been gone five months'lready, an' I can barely remember the place," he said.

"...you're Aerith's fiancee, aren't you?" Goofy said, noticing a small band of gold on his left hand.

"You met her?" said Cloud, being silent for a long time; his face turned pink in the dark. "How's she doing?"

"Good, 'sfar 's I c'ld see," Goofy said. "She misses'ye a great deal. Y'miss 'er too, I expect."

"...more'n anything," Cloud said softly. "Can't wait t'see her again."

"When y'do get back, I hope that y'don' have t'be sep'rated again," said Goofy. "Tha's th'worst kinda pain."

Cloud looked at him with thoughtful blue eyes, wondering what the man could mean, when Donald and Sora came rushing through the door.

"Zeus knows your boss, Goofy!" Sora cried. "He said that he was goin' to Michigan t'check up on a friend!"

"Well, tha's certainly good news," said Goofy. "Cloud, take care o' yourself, okay?"

"...yeah, thanks," Cloud replied, and Goofy rejoined the two in the room, and began to discuss their plan for the next day.

-///-

Meanwhile, Hades was having a positively abysmal evening.

Losing the boxing match was bad enough, but to have Cerberus (his ace in the hole) fail was even worse.

He sat in his office, kneading his forehead while his two lackeys rushed around, trying to placate him with cigars and coffee.

"Hayland? You certainly don't look well."

A black-haired woman had entered his office, a smug look on her face.

"Oy, what're you doin' here?" Hades said, groaning. "Really, you're the last thing I need."

"Just dropping in for a short hello," Maleficent said smoothly. "I heard that boxing fiasco didn't work out as you had planned, and your political career doesn't seem to be faring as well."

"Would you shut up?" said Hades. "Really, why the hell are you here?"

"Oh, Hayland, my dear," she replied, "you know I _adore_ seeing you suffer."

Hades groaned; his business associate really was a sadistic wench. "Get outta here," he said. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"While traveling, it's nice to speak with friends," she replied, smirking. "I have a rather interesting proposition for you, if you're in the mood."

"Bother me later," said Hades.

"Suit yourself," said Maleficent. "Expect a telephone call from me soon, then. I should leave; my nephew's waiting in my car. Have a good evening."

"Jeesh, I pity the kid," Hades said softly, once she had left, meaning every word.


	5. New Eden, Michigan

Chapter 5

"Dammit, Sora, let go!"

"But Donald, I wanna drive!"

"L'eggo, you're gonna crash!"

"Donald...!"

"I will not, lemme drive!"

"Donald...!"

"You're too little, pipsqueak!"

"DONALD, LOOK OUT!"

With an unpleasant jolt, the car jumped from the side of the road into a ditch, rolling over a few times and rattling the occupants inside. Once they had stopped, Donald erupted in a fit of expletives, and forced his way out of the car, which had come to rest on its side.

"Sora, get OUT of the car!" he roared, bringing himself to coherency and tumbling off the car. Sora was quick to follow, while Goofy worked on untangling himself and seeing if Simba was okay.

"I didn't do anything!" he said quickly, sensing he would soon be blamed. "You were th'one that was jerkin' the wheel around like that!"

"I was not!" Donald retorted. "You were th'one reachin' over an' messin' me up!"

"Shut up!" Sora shot.

"Make me, squirt!" Donald said, readying his fists as Sora pounced towards him.

"Hey, hey, stop it!" Goofy cried, looking distressed as he emerged from the car and set Simba safely on the ground. "Don't start fightin' now!" The giant of a man reached forward and grabbed them by the backs of their shirts, dragging them apart as fists and feet flew. "C'mon, we gotta focus on th'car, you two," he said gently, as Sora and Donald got over the shock of Goofy's intervention, and stopped flailing around.

"It's still th'kid's fault," Donald said sourly, and Sora promptly attempted to kick him.

"Stop!" Goofy said, and forcefully tugged on Sora's shirt. "This ain't helpin' nobody. We gotta roll th'car over an' out the ditch."

Sora, rage building up in his small body as Donald agreed with Goofy, tore away from his grasp and out of the ditch.

"Hey, where you goin'?" Donald asked, as Sora took off down the road.

"I hate you!" Sora yelled, running as fast as he could. "I don't need you two, anyways! You're jus' slowin' me down! Good BYE!"

As Goofy saw him disappear down the road, he sighed softly. "Pity; he seems t'have left his things here," he remarked.

-///-

Sora had gotten very far down the road when he began to cry.

How stupid could he be! He looked back and saw through his tears that he had lost sight of the car, and wiped his nose on his arm; for a second, he felt like he wanted to go back.

No! He could go on without those two oafs, he thought, but he'd miss Simba... Maybe he should go back... no, that would mean he was a big sissy! He can't! But, still...

His emotions flip-flopped in this manner as he stomped down the road, debating whether or not to turn back and return to Donald and Goofy. Ugh, but Donald would never let him hear the end of it!

With noon approaching, however, and his stomach growling in protest, Sora realized with embarrassment that he didn't have any food with him, and all his money was in his knapsack, which was still in the car. A barn was approaching, so Sora figured he would wait there until they drove by, as there wasn't a town in sight; if anything, he'd look less of an idiot for not coming back and whining like a baby.

The door of the bar was open, and the sweet smell of new hay blew his way on the cool October breeze. He gladly entered and sat against the bale to his immediate right, sighing in contentment. Donald and Goofy would be arriving soon, so it wouldn't hurt to take a small nap...

-///-

"Gawrsh, Donald, I sure hope Sora's okay..." Goofy said worriedly as they pulled into a town an hour or so later. "We haven't seen anythin' but tha' barn 'bout halfway over. D'you suppose he made it all th'way over here?"

"Don' know, don' care," Donald replied, cupping Simba in his hands and keeping him from wiggling about. "We need t'refuel, so try an' find a gas station."

Goofy nodded sadly, and was quick to find one and pull into it. After getting an attendant to fill the car up, Goofy followed Donald into the store to pay for their gas and some cigarettes. Holding it in well enough, Goofy couldn't help but blurt, as the cashier counted their change, "Say, you haven' seen a young boy 'round here? Brown hair, red overalls, 'round this tall?"

Donald glared, as the cashier scratched his head. "Can't say that I have, mister," he replied. "Why, he your son?"

"No, no," Goofy said. "We're jus' takin' care o' him."

"I see, I see," said the cashier. "Maybe y'should ask th'Porters; they're always helpin' people out."

"Porters?" said Donald, the name sounding vaguely familiar. "Who exactly are they?"

"They're―hey! get away from th'car, y'damn foreigner!" the cashier said, storming out from behind the counter as he saw something outside. "Go on, get!"

A young woman, perhaps 18 or 19 years old, looked up from where she was inspecting the car with interest, and ran away with a scared yelp. The cashier panted and crossed his arms as he got outside.

"Good lord," he said, "that's the third time this week that damn Russian girl's been snooping around my establishment. It's bad for business."

"Russian girl?" Goofy said. "Who is she?"

"One of the immigrants stayin' with th'Porters," the cashier replied. "As I was gonna say, those Porters've been helpin' out all sortsa newcomers since they arrived years an' years back. That particular girl likes t'snoop 'round my shop, for God knows what reason," he added, gesturing with his hand. "No doubt she wants t'steal something. Doesn't speak a word of English."

"I see," said Goofy thoughtfully. "Anyways, could y'show us where them Porters live?"

"It's in a house down the way," the cashier said. "Take the road-"

"Good af't'noon, suh!" a loud, southern-tinged voice called, as a man in a truck with a sizeable amount of boxes and rope in the back rolled into the station. "Y'mind fillin' me up?"

"Ah, Mr. Clayton!" said the cashier, looking delighted. "Just the man I wanted t'see! These folks here need t'see Jane."

"Jane?" echoed the man, getting out of the car. "What business d'y'all have with Jane?"

"They're missin' a boy," said the cashier, and the man smiled.

"Ah see, ah see," he said, rubbing his chin. "Ah tell you what, you two c'n folla me t'the house; ah've gotta run by there an' drop off a few things b'fore I head out, so I c'n see y'meet Jane an' the professor propa'."

"You fam'ly with 'em?" Donald asked. "Sounded like y'name was Clayton, not Porter."

"Cecil Clayton," the man said, tipping his cap. "Ah'm just a border with 'em, y'see."

"I see," Goofy said. "Then, Mr. Clayton, if y'could direct us to th'Porters, we'd be much 'bliged."

"O' course," Clayton said, "jes' as soon's mah car gets its gas!"

-///-

Sora awoke with a start, several hours after his nap began, due to an unexpected rustling from above. Disoriented, he quickly stood and noticed that the sun was much paler than when he began to sleep, meaning that a considerable amount of time had passed, and he began to panic. Had Donald and Goofy passed the barn already? Which direction did they go, if the road forked ahead? Was there even a town ahead?

His increasing panic wasn't helped by sudden pounce of a woman upon him, with a fierce scream and a flailing of arms.

Sora struggled and released himself, and saw a surprisingly beautiful, yet feral woman panting there, tangled blond hair in her face.

"Money... you give MONEY!" she screamed, leaping at Sora again, trying to get at his neck. Sora managed to wiggle away again, and tried to run for the outsides fields, but the woman was too fast, tackling him again.

"Help! Help!" he cried, not caring that the place seemed mostly deserted, as he was finding it was harder this time to escape. "Somebody, HELP!"

All of a sudden, a man appeared at the entrance of the barn, and flung himself upon Sora's attacker with a mighty yell. As the two of them tousled, Sora broke free and splayed himself a wall, watching in horror as the conflict came to an end. With an almost animal-like snarl, the woman growled something fiercely in a language he didn't understand, and fled for the fields. Calming down considerably, Sora approached his rescuer, who was looking somewhat dejectedly at his torn sleeve.

"Thanks for savin' me!" Sora said, and the man looked at him with unusually intense eyes; he had a wild shock of brown hair that was cut near his ears, falling into his face, and Sora shivered a little.

"Sabor. Danger. She take moneys?" he replied, and Sora screwed up his face in confusion. What was with this guy?

"Uh, I have no money," he replied. "That woman's named Sabor?"

The man nodded. "Danger. Come to America to take moneys," he said. "Bad woman."

"Okay...?" said Sora, and began to speak slowly; this man was either foreign or stupid, so it wouldn't hurt either way. "I am Sora. So-ra. Who are you?"

"Tazyan," the man replied. "Name is Tazyan Gulavin. Tazyan save Sora."

"Yes, good," Sora said. "Uhh... I need help. I'm looking for two men, one's kinda short an'-" He stopped, frowning. If he asked for help, he'd look stupid. He didn't need those two! This Tazyan guy might be a little useful, though he was standing and looking rather confused at the moment. Sora began to speak slowly again, "I'm looking for a girl with red hair, around my age. Her name is Kairi. Kai-ri. Have you seen her?"

"Kairi... Kairi..." Tazyan said, thinking deeply, before unleashing a fast string of unintelligible language.

"What...?" said Sora. "I don't understand."

"Not find word," Tazyan said. "Ask Jane. Jane help. Tazyan drive Sora to Jane."

"Okay! Sora, uh, go see Jane!" Sora said, over-simplifying for the man. "Where is your car?"

"Car outside," said Tazyan. "Professor teach Tazyan drive car. Drive good."

"Okay, drive good," said Sora. "Tazyan bring Sora to Jane!"

"Yes," said Tazyan, and began to walk away. "Follow."

Tazyan led Sora to a small brown truck parked on a dirt road near the barn that connected it to the main road and ushered him inside, then beginning to drive. There was an uncomfortable silence for a good long while, before Sora broke it. "So, where are you from, Tazyan?" he asked.

"From Russia," he replied, "but is not called Russia anymore. Soviet. Come with family to America. Safe in America."

"I... see," Sora said. "You, uh, like America?"

"Yes. Like America lots," Tazyan said, smiling. "Meet Jane. Jane help learn the English. Help with house."

"Jane's nice?" Sora asked, and Tazyan nodded. "What's she like?"

"Kind woman," Tazyan replied. "Speak little Russian. Kerchak not like," he added, looking a little sad.

"Who's Kerchak?" Sora asked.

"Father," Tazyan replied, and was silent for a good while. "Town ahead. Town New Eden. Take see Jane."

The houses on the outskirts of the town began to drift outside the windows of the car, and Sora asked, "How long to Jane's house?"

"Not far," Tazyan replied. "Not far. Make fast time."

Sora sat, unusually patient, as Tazyan continued to drive, until the car came to stop in front of a large, handsome house with yellow paint on its outside.

"Jane house," Tazyan announced with a grin. "Jane Porter help."

"Great!" said Sora, getting out of the car with Tazyan. "Umm... take see Jane!"

"Yes," said Tazyan. "Follow." Leading Sora up the walk, he opened the front door and looked around eagerly. "Jane! Jane, where is Jane? Tazyan home!"

"Ah, Tazyan, y'home," a woman's voice said, a soft southern accent in her voice. "How was y'drahve?"

"Tazyan find friend," Tazyan said, as a young woman in a red skirt entered, her long brown hair loose and slightly ratty. "Friend Sora."

"Oh!" she said. "Hello there."

"Hi, are you Jane?" Sora asked, the woman laughed rather unexpectedly.

"So it seems y'speak English," she said. "Yes, ah'm Jane. And y'Sora?"

Sora nodded. "Yep, that's me."

"Sabor try attack Sora," Tazyan reported. "Save Sora. Look for friend Kairi."

"Y'lookin' f'someone?" Jane asked, and Sora nodded.

"Yeah, can y'help, maybe?" he replied. "Her name's Kairi; she's 'round my age an' may've passed through here."

Jane stood for a short while, her finger on her chin. "Hm, well, ah cain't seem t'recall anyone by that name, unfort'nately. Sorry," she said.

"No, no, it's... okay," Sora said softly, looking positively crestfallen, which Jane noticed.

"Why don't y'siddown?" she offered. "Ah c'n get you some juice if y'lahk."

"That'd be nice," Sora replied. "Thanks."

Jane smiled and said, "Tazyan, take Sora t'th'livin' room."

Tazyan nodded, and gestured at Sora to follow him, which he did.

"Do pahdon us," Jane said, bringing up the rear. "We've gotten some unexpected guests t'day."

"Oh?" said Sora, but as he entered the room, he could see the guests in question, who looked wonderfully familiar.

"Sora!" Goofy cried, grinning as he sat on the couch with a cheerful-looking old man with a thick mustache.

"Goofy, Donald!" said Sora, running over to grab Donald by the shoulders in a hug, but both quickly turned from each other, crossing their arms and holding their noses high in the air.

"Ah, so y'found y'fatha' !" Jane said delightedly, but Goofy smiled and shook his head.

"No relations, miss," he said.

"Goodness, more guests!" the man on the couch said. "What a treat! An' who ah you, young man?"

"I'm Sora," Sora said, bypassing Donald to address him; Donald sat down grumpily, scooping Simba back into his hands (he had wandered off again). "An' who're you?"

"Archimedes Porta', but y'c'n jus' call me A'chie!" he replied. "Ah'm Jane's father."

"Nice t'meetcha," Sora said. "Uh, so do you all live with Tazyan?"

"Tazyan an' his fam'ly live with _us_," Jane said. "Money's tight, but we manage."

"Introduce tonight, yes?" Tazyan said hopefully. "Dinner introduce."

"Yes, yes, o' course," Jane said, and looked at Donald. " 're you two in a spat?"

"No," Sora and Donald said at the same time, "but I won't let him be right!"

Goofy and Archie both began to laugh, as Donald and Sora turned red with embarrassment.

"Well!" Jane said, giggling. "How 'bout that juice?"

"Tha'd be great!" said Sora, taking a spot on the couch with Goofy, and Jane smiled.

"All raht, then," she said. "Ah'll get that, an' then get suppa' stahted. Tazyan, would y'get Tam f'me?"

"Get Tam yes," Tazyan replied. "Go upstairs."

Exiting, his footsteps were heard going up the stairs as Jane said, "We should have suppa' ready by th'time Clayton comes back from 'is errand."

"Tha's awful kind, miss, thank you," Goofy said, as Jane smiled and retreated to the kitchen. "Sora, Archie here's a friend of our boss!"

"Oh!" said Sora. "D'y'know where he's headed?"

"Well, he only came by f'suppa' not long ago," Archie replied. "It was quite a su'prise, ah haiven't seen him since ah lived back in Maryland."

"If we'd-a known it was you, Archie, we woulda come much sooner," Donald said, restraining Simba (who was attempting to traverse the floor to Sora).

"Well, ah hadn't really sent notice of th'move," Archie said, frowning a little as he came upon another thought. "Jes's soon as ah show ah wanna help th' greata' good, ahm practi'cly run outta town on a rail! Xenophobic bast'ds, all."

"Greater good?" said Sora. "Well, what's that mean?"

"It means, young fella, that ah aim t'help th'future of this contreh," Archie replied, "an' that means we must help th'faheigners. Ah was unfort'nate t'live in an area where that sort've idea was frowned 'pon, so ah up an' left."

"Ooh..." said Sora. "Noble, I suppose."

Archie chuckled. "Thank you, m'boy. Anyways, in regardin' your boss..."

"Yeah, were'd he go to?" Donald asked, finally releasing Simba, who pounced into Sora's lap.

"Well, he told me that he had an associate in Ohio," Archie said. "Went t'check on 'im; heard there w's some trouble ova' there."

"We should leave t'morrah," Goofy said, "if that's th'case. Can't lose time."

"Ah agree," said Archie, "but it would be mahty nice if y'did stay with us this evenin',"

"Of course!" Sora said. "I'd love to!"

With his sudden outburst, Goofy and Archie began to laugh, but Donald just shook his head and sighed.

-///-

Jane began to cook dinner soon after serving them some juice, with the help of a border by the name of Tam Thorrin. Tam was rather large man, with rosy-red cheeks, a mop of red hair, and an easily-frightened disposition. Hailing from Sweden, his English was considerably better than that of Tazyan's, but was still rough in some places.

An eager and competent helper, he and Jane soon had the kitchen full of delicious smells, and were serving supper by 5 o' clock that evening, when Clayton had returned from his small run out of town. Sora had spent the afternoon chatting with Archie, who was a retired college professor and a general specialist in everything from astronomy to zoology. The two had worked up a fierce appetite that was only intensified upon the prospect of dinner.

"Mm, that smells lovely!" Sora said, entering the dining room as Tam placed a large pan of cornbread on the table. "Home-made food!"

"I do hope you like it," Tam said, smiling. "It's my own recipe."

"I'm sure it's great!" Sora said, taking a seat at the table as Clayton came into the room, and scoffed slightly.

"Spreadin' our r'sources ratha' thin, havin' all these guests f'suppa'," he said disdainfully, Jane placing a bowl of mixed greens on the table.

"Clayton, please," she reprimanded. "Be useful an' fetch the p'tata's."

Clayton scoffed again and disappeared into the kitchen as a host of completely new people appeared down the stairs with Tazyan; two women, and a decidedly grumpy-looking man.

"Family," he said, ushering the elder of the women to a seat beside Sora. "My mother. Kala."

Sora smiled as the woman, now identified as Tazyan's mother, sat down and said something warmly to him in Russian. "Uh, you too!" he replied, and she chuckled.

"Here we ah!" Jane said, placing a pitcher of water on the table. "Good evenin', Kala."

"Evening, evening?" Kala said, echoing Jane's speech in a hopeful attempt at conversation, and Jane smiled.

"Daddy, Donald, Goofy! Suppa's b'gun!" she called, and the remaining residents of the house took their places at the table, after Archie led them in a quick prayer, the meal began.

Over the boiled potatoes, cornbread, and dandelion-leaf-salad, Sora was introduced to the rest of Tazyan's family through the man's choppy English, with occasional interpretations from Jane where things got particularly muddled.

Along with his mother, Kala, his older cousin Terkina (Terka, for short) also lived with them, and almost everyone found it amusing that she seemed to have a small crush on Donald, casting him warm eyes from her place at the table across from him -- it didn't please him in the least. Tazyan's father, Kerchak, sat at the opposite head of the table, a silent, hulking figure that made Sora feel slightly uneasy.

Of the three grumpy figures sitting at the table, Donald being one of them, his was arguably the most displeased. The third face belonged to Clayton, who eyed his potatoes with discontent.

"There's less on this table than there was las' month," he remarked.

"Clayton!" said Jane. "It's all we have, y'should be thankful."

"We could be eatin' lahk kings, y'know," Clayton said, sticking a fork in one of the potatoes. "Those Russians've got a secret stash o' silva' somewhere, ah know it."

"Clayton!" Jane said again, glaring at him as Donald raised an eyebrow.

"Ah've seen it!" Clayton retorted. "A trunk o' silva', they brought with 'em! We could sell it!"

"If they really do have enah silva', Clayton," said Jane, glaring in his direction, "it's their d'cision what they wanna do with it."

"Silver?" Tazyan said, trying his hardest to understand the conversation. "Silver help Jane?"

"Y'mean it's real?" said Donald, who had been teetering on the line between belief and skepticism.

"Silver in trunk. Sell silver, help Jane?" Tazyan said.

Jane was silent for a small while, while Archie and the rest of the English-speakers leaned forward intently, waiting for her answer. "...well, if that's what y'really wanna do..." she said softly. "But, y'should talk t'your fam'ly fust."

"Talk to Kerchak," Tazyan said, nodding, and an uncomfortable silence lingered over the table as Clatyon finished his dinner with a renewed vigor.

"Well!" Tam said suddenly, breaking the tension. "Why don't we play some music once we're finished with the supper? I can get my trumpet."

"Tam, that sounds lahk a _wond'ful_ idea," Jane said, smiling a bit too much than she needed. "Ev'ryone finished? Let's clean up an' gather 'round the pian'a."

Tazyan reported the news to his family, and Terka burst out with a hopeful "Radio?"

"Terka want sing," Tazyan said, laughing. "Sing song on radio."

"Yeah!" Sora said, laughing with the rest, as Clayton grumbled.

"Well, ah'll be goin' t'my room for a good read," he said, standing and picking up his plate. "Ah do hope y'all enjoy your evening."

Taking his plate into the kitchen and placing it in the skin, Clayton disappeared, leaving them alone for the night.

"Well...!" Sora said after a while.. "How about those dishes?"

"Dish?" Kala said, pointing to hers.

"Yes, that's raht!" Jane said smiling. "Wash dish." She made a scrubbing motion with her hand.

"Wash dish," Kala repeated. "Wash dish!"

Shortly afterward, everyone (Donald and Kerchak included) pitched in to help wash the dishes, gathering afterwards around the piano in the living room. Jane was quite an accomplished pianist, and combined with Tam's trumpeting, they filled the room with beautiful music. Terka, asking for songs through Tazyan and Jane, showed she was a very good mimic, singing songs she had heard on the radio with a near-flawless accent.

"Y'sure she doesn't speak English?" Donald asked Archie later on. "I think we saw her lookin' at our car earlier t'day, an' the cashier said she didn't speak a word."

"Not at all. She jus' repeats what sh'hears. Good eah, she has," Archie said. "If she had th'patience t'learn, she'd prob'ly learn awful quick."

"I'll say," Donald said, as the trio began another song.

Meanwhile, Clayton was in his basement room, preening in his mirror and clipping his mustache with utmost meticulousness, as a pet lizard in a cage watched with glassy eyes.

-///-

Later that night, as the Gulavin family prepared for bed, Tazyan stood and wondered when he should bring up the subject of the silver to Kerchak as taking off his suspenders.

_"Stop moping!" _Terka said unexpectedly, from behind a shabby folding-curtain that Jane had found in the attic, snapping Tazyan out of his sulk; the two shared a room, Kala and Kerchak owning the one directly next to them. "_You're going to ask Uncle about the silver, aren't you?_"

"_Yeah, you got me," _Tazyan said, laughing a little. "_I don't know how he'd react. Probably unfavorably."_

_"Well, thinkin' about uncle Kerchak..."_ Terka said, a hand rising above the curtain as she put on her nightdress, _"he wouldn't wanna give our money to anyone outside the family."_

_"I know," _said Tazyan, proceeding to his pants, folding them neatly on the trunk at the foot of his narrow bed. _"Still, Jane and the rest are having a hard time feeding us all. We should help."_

_"You got that right," _Terka said, emerging from behind the curtain, her dusky-black hair loosed and falling in shaggy curls around her shoulders. _"I want to eat some _meat_ for once. I thought that we'd be able to eat like _kings_ when we came to America. Obviously," _she added, _"we aren't. I hate that cornbread stuff."_

_"It's not so bad," _Tazyan said, smiling a little as Terka sat on her bed and flopped on her back.

_"Uck. We did _not_ have that sort of thing at home,"_ she replied, sticking out her tongue.

_"Anyways, you should go and ask soon. Sooner than later. I want some _food._"_

Tazyan began to laugh, taking off his shirt and tucking himself in bed, turning off the light.

_"Good night, Terkina,"_ he said.

_"Don't call me that,"_ she replied.

-///-

The next morning, Tazyan appeared down the stairs with a depressed air about him, after everyone else had been awoken by an angry bought of Russian screaming early in the morning. Apparently, Tazyan had asked Kerchak about the silver, only to be denied absolutely and yelled-at, ending only with Kala's intervention. Sensing trouble brewing, the residents of the borders assembled in silence at the table for a cold breakfast of cornflakes and milk.

Everyone, that is, except Clayton, who was looking rather smug as he shoved large spoonfuls of corn flakes in his mouth, milk spattering his lips. Looking around in a somewhat amusing fashion, he wiped his lips with his napkin.

"Well! What's with all th'long faces, now?" he asked jovially, as the rest continued to eat. "...well? Oh, ah think ah know! It's b'cos we _don't have eneh moneh!_ It's b'cos of those damn Russians, ah say! No silva' for th' poor Americans, eh, Kerchak?" he asked, staring at the man at the head of the table.

"Clayton, please, contrahl y'self," Archie said, raising his hand in protest. Clayton backed away from Kerchak, but immediately spotted something shiny around Terka's neck: it was a silver crucifix, usually hidden beneath her clothes, and he leaped forward to grab for it.

"Clayton!" Jane screamed, as Terka dodged his grab and ran to the far wall of the dining room. Immediately, Tazyan punched him in the face, but he quickly got back up, his eyes wild, whipping around the room. With a swift movement, he grabbed Jane around the neck with a brawny arm, and produced a small pistol from his jacket, holding it against her head.

"TAZYAN!" she screamed.

"JANE!" he cried.

"EV'R'BODY!" Clayton said, waving the pistol around and grinning insanely. "Tazyan, you an' your family better cooperate, or Miss Jane heah's gonna get huh pretty little head blown off! Tell me where the silva' is!"

"Clayton, please, act ration'lly!" Archie pleaded, trying to pry Clayton's arm away from Jane. "We c'n settle this peacefully!"

"Mistah Porta', ah am inclined t'disagree!" Clayton said, kicking Archie away as he approached the cellar door and opened it with his pistol-holding hand. "There will be no n'gotiations of enah kind until I get that silva'!"

With a slam of the door, he disappeared, and locked it shut.

"Ohhh, noo!" Archie wailed. "What're we gonna do!"

Kerchak said nothing, stomping upstairs.

"_Kerchak, aren't you going to help?"_ Tazyan asked.

_"...our silver will be kept away from them. That's all that matters,"_ he replied, and Kala rushed after him as he disappeared up the stairs, Terka following hesitantly behind.

"We have to do somethin'..." Archie said, grabbing at his hair and dancing, knock-kneed, in the dining room with nervousness. "Someboda' should get the police!"

With this, Tazyan realized something.

"...where is Sora and Tam?" he asked.

-///-

The two individuals in question were running down the street together towards the police station, Tam grabbing Sora by the hand as soon as Clayton had taken Jane.

"Hey, what's going on?" Sora said, Tam's strong hand holding firmly onto his wrist.

"My English get muddled when nervous," he said, wiping some red hair out of his face. "Help at police, okay?"

"Um, okay!" Sora said, looking back as the yellow house shrunk into the distance, hoping that Jane would be okay.

"Officer Bernard!" Tam cried as they entered the station. "Officer Bernard!!"

"Oh and that Sabor woman was arrested again, dear, that's what they were calling about... my goodness, Tam, what is the matter?" a soft, accented female voice said from somewhere, and Sora saw a slight, middle-aged woman in a purple dress sitting behind a desk nearby, looking somewhat worried.

"Oh, hello, Miss Bianca," Tam said softly, before continuing. "Officer Bernard, it's terrible!"

"What is, what is?" the policeman, sitting behind a desk of his own.

"Something wrong with Clayton," Tam said. "He-he-he-he... uh, Sora, you explain."

"He went crazy or somethin'," Sora said, taking over as Tam produced a large hankie and wiped his forehead nervously. "Grabbed Jane an' went to th'basement over some silver that Tazyan's family was keepin'."

"Gun, he has a gun!" Tam added, finally saying something.

"Sounds odd..." said Officer Bernard, looking a bit alarmed. "Bianca, hold down the station; I'll go investigate to be safe."

"Oh do be careful," Bianca said, and looked at Sora with a slight smile. "If you have the time, young man, please return to meet me formally."

"Bianca, now's not, uh, the time," said Bernard, getting his coat and hat and rushing out the door. "Tam, or, uh, whoever you are, tell me more details as we get there."

"I'm Sora," Sora stated, pouting a little bit.

"Oh, Zora! Isn't that an odd name for a boy?" he said absently, as they entered the street.

"It's **Sora**!" said Sora, frowning a bit.

"I think describing is good thing now?" Tam said, continuing to wipe his head with the hankie.

"Well, uh, I dunno," Sora said. "All I know is that Clayton went an' locked himself in the basement with Jane and a gun, so the sit'ation's kinda dangerous."

"I'll say," said Officer Bernard. "Hold tight, we'll get there soon."

Tam, Sora, and the officer rushed into the house, where Tazyan, Donald and Goofy were huddled around the door to the cellar, Archie rushing around and rummaging through drawers in a nearby room.

"Sora! We was worried about ye'!" Goofy said, his face showing a bit of relief.

"Don't run off like that!" Donald said angrily, crossing his arms. "That was foolish!"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" Sora said. "Tam dragged me along!"

"Ah found it!" Archie cried, appearing with a key in hand. "Th'skelet'n key! Oh, Off'sah B'nard!"

"Archie," Bernard replied, tipping his cap. "What's going on? Did Clayton do somethin'?"

"He's gone completel' mad," Archie said, holding his free hand somewhere near his face in worry. "Ah've no idea what's gotten int'a him. We haven't heard any gunshots, but we dunno if Jane's okay're not. Ah got th'skelet'n key so we could get t'him, but well..." he paused for a moment. "Well, since y'here, Off'sah B'nard, we've nothin' t'worry 'bout! Can y'help?"

"I'll try my best, sir; it's my job," Bernard replied, taking off his hat and coat, and readying his gun. "Somebody needs to open the door while I go down."

"I'll do it," Sora said immediately, grabbing the key from Archie and placing it in the hole.

"Sora!" Donald said, but Sora glared at him.

"Donald, I'm gonna help!" he replied. "I'm not listenin' t'you! Whenever you're ready, Officer Bernard."

"Thanks, Zora," Bernard said.

"It's SORA," Sora repeated.

"On my count," said Bernard, oblivious to Sora's protest, and Sora took to the door. "One... two... three!"

Sora flung the door open and Bernard ran downstairs, and a loud shouting on Clayton's behalf was heard. Jane screamed a little, and a gunshot was heard, as well as a crashing of furniture.

"Hey, help me out here!" Bernard called, and immediately, Sora ran downstairs, without a thought to his actions.

"_Sora, you damn blasted idiot, what th'hell're you doin' now?_" Donald bellowed as Goofy ran to help, deteremined to keep Sora safe, come hell or high water. "What, now you too? Oh for God's sake..." he sighed, rushing down the stairs as well, leaving Tazyan, Tam and Archie standing rather confusedly at the top of the stairs.

In the basement, Clayton was stomping around like some sort of giant of ogre, waving his monstrous arms around and growling, almost as if he were playing make-believe with a child. He had discarded his gun, which was now somewhere underneath his bed. Jane cowered in a corner, as Bernard's entrance had caused him to let go of her. Sora and Bernard were darting around, trying to keep away from him as he swept his arms together in an attempt to catch them, Donald and Goofy standing at the foot of the stairs, waiting for a moment to intervene.

"Where's th'silva'?!" he roared, his mind seemingly fixed on that and that only as he lunged for Bernard, only to miss and nearly stumble. He stood in the center of the room, his arms raised and his eyes wild, seething and practically foaming at the mouth. In a spur-of-the-moment action, Sora leaped and grabbed him around the legs, and with a start he stumbled forward and flat on his chest.

"Sora!" Goofy called, grinning in spite of himself.

"You two, grab his arms!" Bernard commanded, and Donald and Goofy were more than happy to oblige, wrestling to hold Clayton's arms to his back as Bernard handcuffed him.

"Let m'go! Let m'go!" Clayton bellowed, trying to roll around, only to be stopped by Jane sitting on top of him, side-saddle-style.

"Dea' God an' heaven above!" she exclaimed. "What'n th'world's gotten int'you, Clayton?"

"Gimme th'silva', gimme th'silva!" Clayton said again, trying in vain to roll himself over.

"Zora, go an' find his gun," said Bernard. "It slid under his bed when I came in."

"It's **SORA**," Sora said once more, getting on his hands and knees as he peered beneath Clayton's bed. The gun was there, shining a little in the lamplight, but there seemed to be another thing under there as well, that moved when Sora appeared and blocked the light.

"Officer Bernard...?" Sora said. "There's somethin' in there with the gun. I dunno what it is!"

Bernard stepped away from Clayton and took a peer beneath the bed. "What in the..." he said softly, before turning around and looking at Clayton for something.

"What is it, Off'cer?" Goofy asked, as he had stepped aside with Donald once Clayton had been apprehended. Observing Clayton's hands, Bernard let out a triumphant "A-ha!"

"What is it?" the four sane occupants of the room said.

"Lookit this, here," Bernard said, and showed an inflamed red bite on the palm of Clayton's hand. "That thing under the bed there? That's a Grinmin Lizard, I've seen 'em before. The bites're pretty nasty; make you crazy as a bat."

"How'dyou know that?" Donald asked, rather disturbed by this.

"Dealt with a dealer'n black market animals a few years back, when me an' Bianca were in California," Bernard said, standing up. "Name of McLeech. Had his own, named Joanna. Boy, do I remember that nasty little thing."

"So y'mean that Clayton's pet lizahd's pois'nous?" Jane said, as Clayton attempted to roll around again; she gave him a firm punch to his back. "Quiet, you."

"Sorta," said Bernard. "Nothin' that a stay'n th'hospital won't fix. He should be better after a few days. From th'looks of this bite, he's had it for a few days now..."

"Well, ah did notice he was bein' a mite meana' than us'al," Jane said thoughtfully.

"Y'hear that, Clayton? You ain't mad."

"Damn... damn gorillas, get 'em outta mah room..." Clayton said drowsily, beginning to hallucinate a little.

"I'll go back to th'station to arrange for an ambulance to get him," Bernard said, smiling. "It wouldn't hurt for somebody to sit on him for a while. I think Tam would be best."

"And, uh, what about that lizard?" Donald said, inching away from the bed.

"The local zoo'd be more'n happy to take it," said Bernard, laughing a little. "If we don't bother it, it'll stay under the bed until someone comes for it. Zora, that was very brave, what you did. Thanks for jumping in!"

"It's-" Sora began, but cut himself off and smiled, feeling it wasn't important anymore. "Yeah, don't mention it."

"Jaaaane! Ah you okayyy??" Archie called down the stairs.

"Ah'm fine, daddy!" Jane called. "Can y'get Tam dahn here? We need somebodeh t'sit on Clayton."

"...um, sure, Jane, I'll come down..." Tam said, sounding unsurprisingly confused.

Following Bernard up the stairs, Sora, Donald, and Goofy retold the story to Archie once Tam had gone downstairs and brought Jane back up safely, where she gave Tazyan a hug.

"Ah was so scared..." she said, and Tazyan smiled a little before noticing his family on the stair.

"_He went mad from a poison, I think,_" he said to them. "_He'll get better after seeing a doctor. Sora saved Jane from getting shot. I'm thankful to him."_

Kerchak sniffed and returned upstairs, as Terka ran and flung herself on Jane, sobbing in Russian about how worried she was that Jane wasn't going to be okay. Kala, however, looked rather thoughtful at this turn of events, and went into a room to get something. Jane smiled and laughed, barely understanding half of what she was saying, as Archie went on the porch to watch for the ambulance.

Kala appeared again, something cupped in her hands, and she tapped Sora on the back.

Opening her hands, she ushered a beautiful silver knife towards him, with a gleaming blade he could practically see his face in. A pattern of blue enamel butterflies made up the handle.

"King," she said, pushing it towards him. "King."

"King?" said Sora, amazed at this gift and confused at Kala's choice of words.

"_Tazyan, what is the word for knife? I can't remember it,"_ she said, and Tazyan turned around, his face lighting up.

"Knife, _Mama, _Knife," Tazyan said.

"Knife. Knife for Sora save Jane Tazyan happy," she said haltingly, pushing it towards him again. "Take!"

"Sora, go on, take it," Jane urged. "It's a gift from... wait, Kala, does that mean y'gonna share th'silva'?"

_"Tell her that this is on my own will,"_ Kala said, vaguely translating what had been said. _"Kerchak hasn't decided, but this is my gift."_

"Kerchak not yet decide," Tazyan reported. "Gift from Mama to Sora. Decide herself."

Sora smiled, and took the knife as Donald and Goofy watched on. "Thanks," he said simply.  
"Welcome is yours," Kala replied, grinning from ear to ear as Kerchak watched on.

-///-

Sora, Donald, and Goofy left shortly afterwards after gathering Simba (who had slept through the entire affair on a couch), receiving hugs from Jane (and a kiss from Terka to Donald that caused him to become very flustered -- "My wife's gonna kill me!") and well-wishes from Archie and Tazyan.

Donald and Sora sat in silence as Goofy hummed something that sounded like "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Turning the knife over and over in his hand, Sora leaned back in his seat, watching the enamel shine in the light, Simba napping in the seat next to him.

"Good lord, Sora, you're gonna make a killing when y'pawn that off," Donald finally said, not bothering to look behind him.

"Pawn it?" said Sora.

"Yeah," said Donald. "The next big city we come to, y'can go to a pawn shop and sell it."

"...Donald, I'm not going to," Sora said softly.

"What? Why wouldn't you?" said Donald.

"It's... it's a gift," said Sora, turning the knife over again. "I shouldn't."

"Who are they to know?" Donald said. "Besides, what're you gonna do with a glitzy thing like that?" Goofy stopped humming.

"...it's a memory," Sora said.

"A memory?" Donald said, scoffing a little as he began.

"Yeah, a memory," said Sora. "When... when I see Kairi an' Ri-" he started, then stopped, frowning a little before beginning again. "...Kairi again, then I'll have proof that I was there. Like that photograph we got from Hercules, remember?"

"He autographed that for ya," Goofy noted, remembering the signed photograph of Hercules he had received following the match.

"Yeah, it'll be somethin' t'remember my time by," he said, untying his knapsack and taking out the tin box, putting the knife away. "Y'know?"

Donald was silent for a good long while, and Goofy begin to hum again, this time something that sounded like a lullaby

"...listen, I'm sorry for yellin' at you," Sora said, gently tying his knapsack again and picking up Simba in his hands. "I shouldn't-a grabbed the wheel like that, an'... it was stupid-a me to run off."

"So you're admitting you were wrong?" Donald said.

"No... more like... more like I was stupid," Sora said, beginning to laugh a little. "Next time, I'll ask b'fore I wanna drive."

"Like that'll happen anytime soon," Donald said, but found he was smiling too.

"Truce?" Sora said.

"Truce," Donald agreed.

As they continued on their way to Ohio, Goofy softly began to sing.

_"You'll be in my heart,_

_No matter what they say,_

_Yes you'll be in my heart, always."_

-///-

Hey, guys! Author's Notes time again.

Surprisingly, I wrote about half of this chapter on paper. Can you believe it?  
My graph-paper notebook is very happy and full of notes now. D

If any of you guys are familiar with Russian or Swedish, I'm sorry if the names don't really sound like the languages they're from. XD;; I tried my best.

I hope you guys enjoyed the obligatory Disney-tributes in here. I know I do. XD

Anyways, I'm really looking forward to this next chapter; Aladdin, baby! I've got lots in store for this chapter, it might even be as long as the Traversa chapter.  
I'll be taking a bit of artistic license there, because I felt the game's storyline was a bit weak, so I'll be following the movie's.

Hope you enjoy it! It'll take me a while to write, though, but that's okay. Right?

Thanks a lot for all the reviews! I'm really grateful to have such an intelligent fanbase for my work.

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you enjoy the upcoming ones.

Lots of love!

- Rii


	6. Agraba, Ohio

Chapter 6

"Next time, you'll do best t'leave your solicitin' with another company!" the guard laughed, slamming the gate to the prison cell closed and locking it. "Enjoy your stay in Agraba! Ha ha ha ha!"

As soon as the guard was out of earshot, Donald began to swear, and Sora sighed.

"Way to go, you two," he said glumly. "That Salton guy sure has his security! Why didn't you know about this?"

"We haven't seen 'im in a long time, Sora," said Goofy, knitting his fingers together as he sat down. "He must-a upped his secur'ty while we was gone."

"I'll say," said Donald, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "How long ago did we last visit him? I know it was before th'crash."

"That must-a been ova' a decade ago," Goofy remarked quietly. "Amazin' how times change a pers'n."

"Y'got that right," Donald said, and searched in his pocket for a package of cigarettes. "Nobody trusts anybody anymore."

"If y'don't trust people, how come y'picked me up?" Sora said, with a bit of a smile.

Donald was silent for a good long while, and took a cigarette out of the package, then getting his lighter. "...you're a kid. You're an exception," he said, lighting it and taking a long leisurely drag. 

Sora laughed a little, and sat down on the wall next to Donald. "Well, now what do we do?"

"I s'pose when we get out t'morrah, we'll hafta call Mista' Salton an' make an appointm'nt with 'im," said Goofy. "'til then, we sh-"

"Hey, keep it down, will ya? I'm tryin' t'get some sleep, here," said a voice from the corner; it sounded rather young.

"Sorry, young fella," Goofy said, looking over to see who had said it; a boy only a few years older than Sora sat there, in a dirty pair of white trousers and a red shirt, with a purple vest, unbuttoned and frayed.

"...naw, never mind, I'm not really tryin' t'sleep. Sorry about that," he said, smiling a bit. "The name's Alphonse. Alphonse Addington, but you can just call me Al."

"Hey, Al," Sora said. "I'm Sora Davis, and these are my friends Donald Duke, and Gerald Güfenheim."

"But y'can jus' call me Goofy," Goofy noted.

"I'll be sure to remember that," Al said with a smile; he had dusky skin, and Sora couldn't decide whether he was mulatto, or just worked in the sun a lot. "So, what're you three in here for? Look at a copper wrong?"

Donald shook his head, and breathed out another cloud of smoke. "Naw. People just don' remember stuff like they used't."

"Remember, huh?" said Al. "Well, whaddya mean?"

"We went t'visit an old 'quaint'nce," Goofy explained, "an' it seems his guards weren't f'miliar with us. We got thrown in jail fer causin' a fuss."

"All thanks t'Donald," Sora added, and Donald glared at him, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and putting it out on the floor.

"Old acquaintance, eh?" said Al. "I can relate. Folks nowadays're so... I dunno. Throw y'in jail for lookin' at y'wrong, or... heh," he said, looking away. "Even givin' the daughter of the wealthiest damn man in town a place t'stay, when she was all dressed-up like some tramp from a Hooverville."

"What're you talkin' about?" said Sora.

"Just somethin' that happened t'day, an' the reason I'm here, I suppose," Al said. "I was just walkin' around, tryin' to steal a little breakfast-"

"Got in for stealin', eh?" said Donald, and Goofy nudged him, frowning.

"Let 'im finish!"

"Thanks, sir," Al said. "Anyways, this girl gets in trouble for tryin' t'give an apple to a kid without payin' for it, so I went an' said she was m'sister, an' we ran outta trouble. Beautiful girl, with these... big brown eyes..." He trailed off, his eyes growing unfocused and dreamy. "...yeah, anyways, I took her back to my place, since she looked like she didn't have a place t'stay, an' we were gonna... gonna... well, the cops busted in an' I found out she's the daughter of that Samson Salton fella, an' they dumped me in here for 'attempted murder' or some bull like that. Dunno when I'll get out."

"That unfair," Sora said. "What was she-"

"Salton? That's who we were lookin' for t'day!" Donald interrupted. "You were foolin' around with 'is daughter?"

"Hey!" Al retorted.

"I think I rememb' her," Goofy said thoughtfully, not taking a part of the conversation. "Cute lil' thing, named aft'r a flower r'somethin' like that."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, you know Samson Salton?" said Al, the situation finally properly dawning in his mind, and Donald and Goofy nodded together.

"Yeah, he's an old friend'v ours. We was suppos't check up on 'im," said Goofy. "We'll get out t'morrah, an' give 'im a call, I s'ppose. Y'don't wanna see his daughter again, do ya?"

"Well... no, but... well..." Al said, sheepishly running his fingers through his hair, when a strange chattering noise was heard, and a small brown monkey dressed smartly (as monkeys tend to dress smartly, whenever dressed at all) in a purple vest came in through the barred window overhead. "Boo! There you are!" Al said delightedly, as the monkey climbed on to his shoulder. "Escape okay?" The monkey proceeded to climb on top of his head and grab at his hair with tiny little hands; Sora's eyes practically shone.

"Oh my- a MONKEY?" he exclaimed, his face lighting up. "You have a MONKEY?"

"Oh, yeah," said Al, stroking the creature on the head. "This is Boo; he escaped from the circus about a year back an' stuck with me ever since. Cute little guy, ain't he?"

"Not as cute as Simba!" Sora declared, taking the kitten out of his front pocket and allowing him to wander towards Al. Boo meandered down Al's arm in curiosity, and monkey and kitten looked at each other as conversation resumed, occasionally batting a paw in investigation.

"So, Al, maybe y'should come with us when we visit Samson," said Goofy, resuming conversation. "How 'bout it?"

"Oh, that'd be swell! Only..." Al said, "I'm not quite sure when exactly I'll be gettin' out."

"That's not a problem, young man," an old, crackly voice from the other side of the cell said. A rather skinny old man, his clothes wrinkled and stained, grinned with ugly yellow teeth at them. "I can get you all out, if you do me a little favor."

"What did you say?" Al said, leaning in a little closer as the old man got up and brushed off his pants.

"I could get you fellas out, if you help me in return," he said, reaching into his pocket for something. "I am willin' to pay in cash."

"An' just how d'you expect us t'trust you?" Donald said, looking up as the man approached them; he was stooped and bent, his fingers gnarled and stained by cigarettes.

"I was in here all day, waitin' for someone that looked trustworthy enough t'show up so's I could ask," he said slyly. "Got nicked on purpose just b'cause. Stealin' apples, y'see. Would I be right in guessin' you folks aren't the common type o'criminal?"

"...not even," Al said. "What, is this what you do for fun?"

"Naw. It's a good way t'find help, though," the old man said. "So, how 'bout it? Ain't much of a favor t'ask."

"What exactly're you askin'?" Donald said, knitting his eyebrows together in distrust.

"I'm askin' t'go an' fetch a friend o'mine from a nightclub," he said. "He works there, y'see, an' I'm not exactly allowed in anymore. I raise a bit of a fuss when I overdo the drink at times," he added with a sheepish grin.

"Which club?" Al asked.

"The Cave of Wonders Club, downtown on 42nd Street," said the old man. "You know where it is?"

"Sure do," Al said. "They'd be closing just about now, though."

"No matter, you should be able to catch him," the man replied.

"And you say you're gonna pay us?" Sora said, and the old man nodded eagerly, searching in his pocket and producing a stack of wrinkly bills.

"I got the money right here! As soon as my pal's outside an' with me, it's yours," he said. "Easy thing t'do."

"An' how're you gonna get us out, exactly?" Donald asked, crossing his arms. The old man grinned again, and proceeded to press a series of stones in the wall near where Al was sitting away. The bricks slid away as if they were made of unattached wood, and after pushing them aside and onto the sidewalk, there was a sizable hole for them to escape through.

"Unbelievable!" Al remarked. "You really do this often, huh?"

"Whenever I'm in a sticky situation," the old man said. "It's taken quite a bit-a quiet night work t'get this convenience set up here."

"Nice," Donald said. "Al, you gon' show us th'way? I dunno my way 'round here."

"So we're for it, 'm guessin'?" Goofy said.

Donald and Sora replied, in unison, "Of course!"

"I'll help you 'round," Al finally replied, and crawled through the hole. "I know this city better'n the back o' my hand."

As the rest of them exited (Sora sticking Simba in his pocket, Boo hitching a ride on Al's shoulder), the old man joined them and replaced the bricks. He grinned as Al, Boo on his shoulder, snuck down the sidewalk with the rest of them. It was going perfectly according to plan.

-///-

It took them a good half-hour of walking to reach 42nd Street, and melted rather inconspicuously into the crowds of people that milled into the clubs that were still open for alcohol and a good laugh. They followed each other in a line, until finally, the Cave of Wonders Club was reached, and the old man's face lit up with anticipation.

"Here we are!" he said, grinning at the golden tigers that were painted on the curtained windows of the establishment.

"Swanky!" Sora exclaimed.

"All right, so we're here," Donald said. "Who's going in?"

"Best if you all did, really," the old man said. "Never know who might be in there, y'know. You can never be too careful these days, what with all those... mafias and gangs and mobs and whatnot! Wouldn't want you t'get hurt, fellas."

"Right," said Al. "So, who are we lookin' for?"

"His name is Gene E. Holland," the old man explained. "Go in an' ask the bartender for him, an' she'll show you the way. Just tell 'im that ol' J. Farthingstone is here for him, all right?"

"Sounds good!" Sora said. "Let's go in."

"Wait, will they... let a kid in?" Goofy asked the old man.

"Oh, o' course," he replied. "N'body minds. I'll be waitin' out here for ya."

Nodding, the four of them entered the club, the old man winking and giving them a thumbs-up, then grinning wickedly as they disappeared.

The interior of the club was absolutely gorgeous, a glitzy affair left over from the previous decade, of red and blue and gold, surprisingly well-kept for its age; a small stage could be seen in a small room to one side. Yet, it was almost eerily empty, the tables absent of any patrons and the sole occupant being a negro woman, her hair wrapped in a blue paisley scarf, at the bar, wiping its surface with a spotty rag.

"Mafia my ass," Donald said. "There's nobody in here!"

"Donald, shh," said Goofy. "Be polite."

Al was first to approach the woman (who seemed, oddly enough, to be the bartender, as the man had said), and flashed a charming smile. "Excuse me, could y'help us?" She looked up grumpily, and folded the rag, but said not a word. "Hello?" Al said, as he got no reply. She sighed, then reached under the bar and produced a slate and a piece of chalk, and writing down something. She turned the slate around once she was finished and jabbed her finger at it.

"I'm a mute," it said. "What do you want?"

"Oh! Uh, I'm, uh, _sorry_," Al said, genuinely set aback. "We're lookin' for this guy named Gene Holland, y'know where he is?"

The bartender erased the slate with her rag, and pointed down the hall with her left hand as she wrote. "Down that hall. He's in the dressing room."

"Which one?" Sora asked, and she shot him an annoyed glance that read, "Which do you think?" Immediately, Sora understood, due to the emptiness of the rest of his surroundings. "Oh... right, sorry."

"Thanks," Goofy said quietly, after the rest had quickly stormed off towards the dressing rooms. The bartender gave a surprisingly tender smile, and nodded, before he joined them again.

Al knocked cheerfully on the door to the only adorned dressing room, which had a frayed paper sign that read "Gene Holland" on it. "Mista Holland? Are you in?"

The door opened a little, and an extremely tall man with coffee-colored skin appeared, a slightly surprised smile on his face. "Yeah?"

"Hi, um, we were sent here by a friend-a yours t'come get you," Al said, a bit frightened by his stature.

"Really? I suppose it's your lucky hour, pal; I was just startin' t'get ready for home," he said. "Who might you four be?"

"I'm So-" Sora began, but Donald interrupted him.

"Just errand-boys," he said. "Your friend said he'd be waiting outside."

"Sounds good," Gene said. "Could y'go tell Carmen she can go home, too?"

"Carmen...?" the four echoed.

"Oh! Momentary brain lapse, there," Gene said. "She's workin' the bar."

"Ah, her!" Sora said. "Sure, I'll go tell her!" He scampered away to the main room and told the woman, now identified as Carmen, "Y'can go home, now. Gene said so."

She put her hands on her hips and smiled a little, then put the rag away and went into the stage-room to close the curtains.

"I us'ally leave by th'alleyway, it's much less crowded," he heard Gene say. "I mean, did y'see those crowds? Moo!"

"Alleyway, huh?" Sora said to himself, and peered around the room until he found a door that looked like it led outside. With a cheeky smile, he peered out, but was quickly scared by what he saw and heard.

The old man that had let them escape from jail was now surrounded by men in expensive suits, and was proceeding to put a suit on himself.

"So, boss, will we get Holland?" one of the suits asked.

"Oh, he'll be out in a moment," the old man replied, his crackly accent gone and replaced by a smoothly oiled tone of education. "Oh, this is just too simple, honestly."

"Who's getting him?" another suit asked.

"Some idiots I found in a jail," said the man. "You know that's where I always go when I want a nice, stupid goon."

"Ain't that the truth, boss," said a short man with thick, almost comical eyebrows; he had a red vest on beneath his coat. He laughed in a rather rough, annoying way after he spoke.

"Oh my goodness..." Sora gasped, as the old man transformed into a sleek mob boss, the kind he thought only existed in pictures. "I gotta tell the others!"

"So who was askin' for me, eh?" Gene was asking, as Sora rushed back to the dressing room. "A talent agent or somethin'?" he added with a hopeful smile.

"Mister Holland, you're in trouble!!" Sora yelled, flinging himself in the hallway. "There's mob guys all around the alley and they were talkin' about kidnappin' you or somethin'!"

"Sora, now's not the time t'be playin' around," Donald said sharply.

"I'm not makin' it up!" Sora said.

"Mob?" said Al confusedly. "Where in the world...?"

"Who sent for me, again?" Gene asked.

"Some guy... Farthingstone, I think," Al said. "Paid us t'find you. He's a friend-a yours, right?"

Gene's face froze for a moment, and became suddenly very serious. "...you four, you're... we have t'get outta here. Carmen!" The woman immediately ran to the hallway, alarmed. "Get the car, we hafta go! An' don't use the alley!" Carmen nodded, rushing out and disappearing somewhere. "God, fellas, I'm sorry for all this. You gotta follow me, or else you're dead meat! C'mon!"

"Wait, just what exactly is goin' on?" Donald demanded, but Gene rushed out and grabbed Sora's wrist in the process.

"No time, just follow me!" he said urgently, leading them to a back room that held the club's alcohol, a door leading outside hanging open as an engine began to roar to life. "Into the car, quickly!"

Goofy and Sora, too caught up in the moment to object, quickly entered the back of the automobile. Al and Donald, however, stood rather stupidly in the doorway until shouts began to be heard, of people saying, "He's escaping!" "He's getting away!" "Quick, get the guns!"

Immediately, they entered, and Carmen took the wheel, speeding away into the night with Gene and his would-be, inadvertent betrayers.

-///-

The next morning, Jasmine Salton woke up in a very bad mood.

She had been having a very wonderful day until her father and his good-for-nothing adviser had to get involved. It wasn't that big of an issue, anyways! She had just borrowed a dress from a servant and snuck out of the mansion for a little bit of fun! And she had met such a nice guy too... even though he was homeless. God, those beautiful eyes of his...

She wandered downstairs for breakfast in a grumpy haze, and saw her father reading the newspaper with a small cup of coffee in his hand, his white beard carrying quite a few crumbs of toast.

"Ah, Jasmine, good morning," he said. She scowled as she reached for a piece of toast, and spread a nice amount of marmalade on it. "Jasmine, I'm sorry about yesterday..."

She said nothing, and bit into the toast ferociously when her father's financial adviser, James Finch, came into the room. He was a slimy man with slimier hair, oiled in a shiny dome that was parted in the middle and mirrored his thinly-clipped mustache.

"Ah! James, good morning," her father said.

"Good morning to you too, sir," he replied smoothly. "Ah, Jasmine, so good to see you're all right."

Jasmine glared back. "I was fine to begin with," she said. "You should have stayed out of this, Finch."

"I'm sorry, my dear, but it is my job to be concerned for my employer's only daughter!" he said. "That boy could have done... _unspeakable_ things to you."

"He was _not_ that kind of person," Jasmine replied, shooting a nasty glare over her toast.

"Still," James said, knitting his knobbly fingers together and smirking, "we had to assume the worst. You'll rest assured, Mister Salton, that he's been placed in a suitable prison for his crimes."

"Yes, excellent," Samson said, in an almost distracted way.

"If I had the power, I'd let him out," Jasmine said bitterly, and left the table.

"Wait, Jasmine! Ooh, James, I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with her," Samson said, looking pityingly at his adviser. "Such a reckless girl."

"I couldn't agree more, sir," James replied. "She'll cool down with time. Now, shall we commence with some of today's dealings? You still owe my men a payment for that advertising boost."

"But I paid for that already-" Samson protested, but was cut off.

"Samson, Samson, you'd best comply," said James, placing a bony hand on Samson's portly shoulder. "You wouldn't want something happening to that pretty daughter of yours, now, would you?"

Samson said nothing, completely helpless to the situation. A door opened.

"Hey, boss! There's a phone call for you!" said Ethan Agobi, James's personal assistant.

"Excellent, I'll be there shortly," said James. "Well, you'd best get that check written, Samson."

"Yes... yes, of course," Samson said quietly, as James strode out of the room and picked up the phone.

A grin slowly spread on his face when he realized who it was.

-///-

Earlier in the morning, long before the sun had risen, Carmen had driven to Gene's current home: a rather shabby room in the Oasis Hotel, with a cheap pattern of palm trees on the walls. As soon as they had entered, Gene sighed and closed the door behind him, locking it.

"God, guys, I'm so sorry," he said again. "I really owe you one!"

"Owe you?" said Al, as Boo jumped off his arm and onto the bed. "Whaddya mean. 'owe you'?"

"Well... I've got a bit of... a past, y'see," Gene said.

"A past?" said Sora. "Did y'kill somebody?"

"Sora!" said Donald, but Gene laughed.

"No, no, nothin' like that," he replied. "I can't stand th'sight-a blood. It's more like... I'm valuble property."

"Property?" the four said, as Carmen began to unwrap her hair and headed to the bathroom.

"I got connections," Gene said. "Valuable property with th'mob guys, as you can imagine. I've been chased for years, hardly a moment-a free time. It's all th'same; get 'recruited,' serve a while, then escape. Only recently've I been able t'do what I love." His face became slightly soft and nostalgic. "Carmen was nice enough t'give me... ah, nev'mind. That guy Farthingstone's been on my tail for a while."

"So why d'they want you so bad?" Donald asked.

"I already said," said Gene. "I got connections. I have friends an' favors with just about every business there is."

"Wo-ow..." said Al. "You serious?"

"As serious's I'll ever be," Gene said with a wink. "Not apt t'lie, I am."

"Wait, but you're color-" Sora began, before Goofy clapped a hand over his mouth.

"R'mark'ble, Gene," he said, and Sora looked up while trying to free himself. "How'd that come about?"

"Born rich, grew up 'round a bunch-a parties an' business folks," Gene replied. "Lucky I was born in the cities. Thought I'd have more freedom out west. Well, lookit me now! Penniless an' chased halfway 'cross the midwest. So much for 'the easy life'," he added with a chuckle.

"If you've got such connections," Al said, "then how come you're so poor? This place ain't really a mansion."

"Sharp, ain'tcha, kid?" said Gene, laughing slightly. "I'm tryin' t'keep a low profile, an' make it on my own. Nothin' wrong with askin' for favors now an' then, though."

"Who wouldn't?" Al said, and smiled.

"You'd best stay here for th'night," Gene said. "Nobody knows I'm here 'xcept Carmen, an' she's... well, she's not part of any sorta mafia, ain'tcha, Carmen?"

Carmen appeared from the bathroom, her hair loosed and draped about her shoulders like black tassels; she gave a half-hearted glare, and pointed to the door.

"Yeah, you can go home," Gene said. "Say, why don't I treat you to breakfast t'morrah? You too, Carmen. It's the least I can do for all this trouble tonight."

"Really?" said Sora. "Well, that'd be great! I'd love some good food."

"I haven't had a decent meal in foreva'," Al noted. "Sure, Gene, I'll take y'up on that offer."

"Fantastic! You know what, I'll go down an' ask th'manager if I can get you three a few rooms," said Gene. "Stay here a bit, okay?"

"Sure," Al and the rest replied, and they were left in silence as Gene left, Carmen leaving with another small glare to somewhere down the hall. Gene returned fairly quickly, with a rather sad look on his face.

"Afraid I was only able t'find one spare room, you all," he said. "Only fits two, at th'most. I can accommodate more here in m'room, if y'like."

"I'll stay here," Sora volunteered.

"Me too; I mean, why not?" said Al, relatively cheerfully. Gene grinned.

"Okay, so you two are gonna share? Here's the key," he said, handing Goofy the object in question. "When y'wake up, b'sure t'come back here for breakfast, all right?"

"Sure thing," Goofy replied. "Sora, y'sure you're gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Sora replied, smiling. "See you in the morning!"

Donald was quick to leave with a gruff "Good night," but Goofy lingered a little as he echoed the sentiment. Gene quickly busied himself in making sure Al and Sora both had suitable beds; he placed a good amount of blankets on his couch, and pulled out a few drawers from beneath his bed, and covered them in blankets after overturning them to make them more comfortable.

"Sora," Al said, as Boo crawled off somewhere on the bedside table and curled up in sleep, "you can sleep on th'couch, if y'want."

"Are y'sure?" Sora replied. "The couch's much more comf'table, I don't mind th'drawers."

"Naw, I insist," Al said, with a smile. "You should -- ahhhh -- get th'couch." A yawn snuck into his words.

"Well, if you say so..." said Sora, and took off his overalls to sleep more comfortably in only his shirt; he placed Simba tenderly on the pillow. "Gene, thanks a lot. If y'don't mind, could y'tell us more -- wahhhh -- t'morrow?"

"As much's I can tell," Gene replied, getting in his own bed. Al curled up under the blankets on the drawers, and yawned again.

"G'night, all," he said.

"G'night," came two sleepy replies, and Gene turned out the light.

-///-

The next morning, as Jasmine Salton was unhappily munching on her marmalade toast, Sora awoke to find Gene dressed and counting several stacks of bills, Al still asleep on the drawers.

"Mm... g'mornin', Gene, what's goin' on?" he asked.

"Ah, mornin', Sora," he replied. "I just went an' got a favor from a friend o' mine, in case we run any errands t'day."

Gene's friend was a rather successful jeweler in town, known for his incessant flattery of his customers; any woman that walked into his store was accosted with something more or less along the lines of "Would you like a pretty necklace? A pretty necklace would be perfect for a pretty lady like yourself..."

"Errands?" Sora said, rubbing his eyes. "What kinds-a errands?"

"Oh, favors for you, I suppose. I really don't think that I owe you enough," he replied. "Would y'like some new clothes? Those duds-a yours ain't necessarily high-class."

Sora scowled a little. "My clothes're fine," he replied, "but... maybe a little... dirty?"

Gene laughed. "An'thing y'want, Sora," he said. "Really, Farthingstone's after m'head. I'd be dead or _worse_ by now without your help, 'specially you. You ran out an' warned us!"

"Huh... it was that serious, eh?" said Sora. "Glad to have helped, then." He smiled.

"Mmm... no, I didn' steal th'sheep," Al mumbled, before groaning a little and sitting up. "Ah, g'morning."

"Morning, Al," Gene replied. "In th'mood for some breakfast?"

"Sure am!" Al replied excitedly.

"Then get dressed, both-a you! We're leavin' in ten minutes," Gene replied, and there was a knock on the door as Goofy and Donald came by.

In what seemed like mere moments, they were packed up and in Carmen's automobile, then eating large piles of pancakes together in a rather nice restaurant near the heart of the city. Sora felt like he was in heaven, as Gene was footing the bill, and delicious rarities like butter and maple syrup were in seemingly unlimited supply.

"After this, how 'bout we go suit-shoppin'?" Gene said. "I can't think of any other way I can help you all; I can't thank you enough."

"Well, maybe y'could drop us off outside-a Samson Salton's office when we finish," Goofy said, "r'gardless-a wheth'not we get any suits. We need t'see him."

"Salton? I know Salton," Gene replied. "I could get y'in t'see 'im personally, if y'want."

"Gawrsh, y'really mean it?" said Goofy. "Tha'd be mighty wonderful!"

"Hey, anything for you guys," Gene said. "Y'saved m'life, I owe you a lot."

"Do y'know 'is daughter?" Al asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Jasmine? Met 'er a few times," replied Gene. "She's a sweet lil' thing. Why?"

"Is it possible... that you could, maybe... do a little matchmaking?" Al said haltingly, and Gene began to laugh.

"Kid, I'm not that good a matchmaker," he replied, and Carmen gave a sudden exhale that might have been a laugh. "Oh, and b'fore any-a you ask, I won't kill anybody, all right? I can't do everything; it's not like I'm some sorta wish-granting genie, y'know. I can't make a girl love ya."

"Well... I know, well... at least I _think_ she likes me," Al continued. "I just need a way t'see her again. I'd never be let in lookin' like this, if y'know what I mean."

"What you need's a suit and an alias, pal," said Gene. "Works wonders. We'll get the suit on th'way out, but the fake name... somethin' suave, debonair... Aha, I have it. Ali. Ali Ababwa, from... New York!"

"New York!" Sora echoed, in slight awe. "What a name!"

"Ali Ababwa," Al said, tasting the words. "That sounds... that sounds great!"

"Glad y'like it, kid," Gene said. "Add a suit an' a personality, an' we're done; I'll do all th' tough work."

Carmen rolled her eyes as Al attempted to give a "debonair" smile, and Sora laughed, nearly sending thick syrup shooting through his nose.

The crew left the restaurant later, and came to a rather lavish tailor that was a personal friend of Gene's, and more than happy to outfit everyone with a new suit (Gene included, although Carmen declined to have her outfit, a blue dress with gold and red trim, changed). Goofy, not wanting to receive anything impractical, simply asked for some new shirts and trousers for them, much to Donald's chagrin.

Al, however, was taken back and fitted with a cream-colored suit and matching hat, with a jaunty purple feather sticking out from it, and a large ruby tie pin in the violet tie. He left the dressing room with a sort of experimental strut, and grinned. "How do I look?"

"Like a prince, almost!" Sora replied; he was holding Boo for Al, who declared that he didn't want the monkey's little paws staining his new suit.

"Y'look great, kid," Gene said. "Now, on to Salton's office? Mister Ababwa, if I may."

Al laughed, beginning to get used to the name. "Of course, Mister Ho-"

"Shh! I'm Mister Brown from here on out," Gene said, hushing Al before he could finish. "Take care, Jacque!"

"Of course, Gene!" the tailor replied, waving at them as they left the building and piled into the car again.

Salton's office was a beautiful brick building of many stories, and Gene made care to lead the group as they entered; Carmen waited outside for them in the car. A single secretary sat at a desk in the middle of the lobby.

"Atta! How wonderful to see you," Gene said, and the secretary looked up with delight.

"Why, Mister Brown!" she exclaimed. "What a delight, what brings you here?"

"I have some friends that wish to see Mister Salton, if it wouldn't be terribly inconvenient," Gene replied; his speech had become nearly as smooth as silk, any sort of commonness gone from it. "Is he free?"

"Oh, no! He's currently at home," the secretary, Atta, said. "I can book an appointment for you later today, if you'd like."

"No, that won't be necessary," said Gene, smiling gently. "I'll go pay him a personal visit; would you mind calling him and telling him I'll be arriving?"

"Oh! Of course, Mister Brown," Atta said. "Absolutely. Enjoy the rest of your day!"

"Thank you, Atta-dear," Gene replied, beginning to walk away. "Say hello to your mother and sister for me, all right? And that hubby of yours, too! Tell him to keep inventing!"

Atta nodded and smiled, as Gene led the rest of them back to Carmen's car.

"Wow, that was smooth!" Sora remarked.

"You certainly have a way with people," Donald said. "I can see why th'mob's after you."

Gene laughed a little bit nervously, and said, "Carmen, to Mister Salton's house."

Carmen nodded, and the car drove away and to the west, where the parks of Agraba, Ohio, were located.

Samson Salton's estate was a beautiful white building with caramel-tan tiles on its roof, a lavish garden, and a rather large stone fence around it. A rather fat guard was posted at the gate within, and as Carmen drove up he peered inside the car, asking what their business was. Immediately upon seeing Gene, he smiled a gap-toothed smile and allowed them in, and Carmen parked the car in front of the house.

"Got your persona?" Gene asked Al, as they were escorted through the house to the parlor where Salton was residing.

"Yep! 'Good day, Mister Salton, I am Ali Ababwa from New York City, and I am here-'" he began, rehearsing a situation that had been playing in his head since breakfast.

"Give it a rest already," Donald interrupted, as the maid opened a glass door into a marvelous white room, with enormous bookcases on either side of where they were entering. Salton lounged on a white couch in a white suit, and upon seeing Gene, his bearded face lit up.

"Gene, so wonderful to see you!" he cried, and lept out of the couch to shake the man's hand; Salton was so small that Gene had to nearly fold in half for the smaller of the two to have a handshake.

"You look well, Samson!" Gene replied. "I have visitors for you."

"Oh, visitors? What sorts?" Samson asked, and Gene uncurled and stepped aside.

"My good friend," he began.

"Ali Ababwa, from New York," Al finished, and stooped to shake Salton's hand.

"He specializes in jewel trade," Gene remarked. "He's interested in your daughter," he added with a wink.

"Oh are you, now! Well, I hope she doesn't chase you off, my boy!" Salton said good-naturedly. "And you are.. oh, goodness! Gerald, Donald, how wonderful to see you again!"

"Good t'see you well, Samson," Goofy said, as Samson went to shake Donald's hand; the men were around the same height.

"Oh, I could be better..." Samson said softly. "It was wonderful to see your employer just a few days ago; he said I should be expecting you after his departure."

"Your guards tossed us out when we tried t'get in," Donald said sourly.

"Oh _did_ they? That's awful," Samson replied. "I'll have that delt with immediately. Oh, and who are you? Are you Gerald's son?"

"Uh, no, I'm not related, sir," Sora replied.

"He's just travelin' with us, Samson," Goofy said.

"Oh? Then do excuse me, my boy; I was aware that Gerald had a son that must be around your age by now!" he said, chuckling a little. "I've never seen the lad, myself, so pardon me for assuming."

"That's okay," Sora said, finding himself laughing; Samson's very presence seemed to be one that cheered.

"Well! Shall I get drinks for you all? Donald, Mister Ababwa? Gene? Oh, where did Gene go?" Samson said, and it was true; Gene had left the room.

"Bathroom, sir," a maid, hearing the conversation, said after opening the door.

"Oh, yes, good," said Samson. "Drinks nonetheless! James, come join us! I'd like to have you meet some people!"

Following a male servant that carried a decanter of liquor and several small glasses came the thin, greasy man known to them as James Finch, rather pleased due to a recent telephone call from a very good friend of his. "Yes, Mister Salton?"

"I'd like you to meet Gerald Güfenheim, and Donald Duke, of the Mouser Company," he said. "The boy is Sora, er, Sora...?"

"Davis," Sora said.

"Sora Davis, their companion," Samson concluded. "And over here is Ali Ababwa from New York! I think he's a promising one."

"A promising one for what, sir?" James asked dryly, as the servant left.

"A suitor for You-Know-Who," said Samson with a wink.

"Oh, speaking of your daughter," Al said, reaching over and grabbing Boo from Sora's shoulders, "I have a gift for her. Could you, er, send her in?"

"Well, of course. Jasmine? Jasmine! Come down, you must meet this delightful young man!" said Samson, as James sent a poisonous glare in Al's direction.

"I'll have you know that you are _not_ welcome here, Mister Abooboo," he said, hiding his voice under the sound of Samson's calls for his daughter.

"It's _Ababwa,_" Al replied, trying to sound smooth despite his annoyance.

"However you say it," James said, as Jasmine entered the room; she was a vision of pale blue in a dress of a sheer, chiffon-like fabric, and nearly every guest present felt their jaw drop open at least a little.

"Father, what is it this time?" she asked, looking at each new guest with a narrowed eyes.

"I have to introduce you to Mister Duke and Mister Güfenheim, and their young companion Mister Davis," he said, gesturing towards Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "They're employees of that guest we had just a few days ago."

"Oh, the short man!" Jasmine said, smiling a little. "Wonderful to meet you. And... you are?"

"Ali Ababwa, I'm from New York," Al said, his "suave" accent becoming a little too forced. "I've heard much about you!"

"Oh _have_ you?" Jasmine said, crossing her arms.

"Yes," said Al, a bit nervous; did she not recognize him? "I have a gift for you!" He extended forth an arm, and Boo looked at her curiously. "It's a monkey."

"Oh... very... nice," she replied, somewhat confused; had she seen that monkey before?

"I'll have a cage bought for it immediately," Salton said, smiling widely.

"Oh, no, Mister Salton, he... doesn't like cages that much," said Al, after seeing a slight panic come across the primate's face.

"Right!" said Samson. "Could I, er, perhaps... hold him?"

"Oh, of course, sir," said Al, and allowed Boo to lumber over onto Samson's shoulder, where he began to giggle.

"Oh, how delightful! Mister Ababwa, how utterly delightful!" he said. "Gerald, Donald, do you have accommodations here in Agraba?"

"No, sir," Goofy replied.

"Then I'll have rooms prepared immediately! For you as well, Mister Ababwa," he said, and chuckled some more. "Oh, how wonderful! What a sweet thing you are. Jasmine, you ought to thank Mister Ababwa for such a lovely gift!"

Jasmine glared at Al for a short while, then stomped off and out of the room. Boo hopped off Samson's shoulders and onto the couch, and there was an uncomfortable silence in the room for a while.

"I'll have rooms prepared, sir," James said, finally.

"Yes, thank you," said Mister Salton. "Oh, and have an extra prepared for Mister Brown."

"Of course," said James, and left the room.

"I'm dearly sorry for Jasmine's behavior," said Samson. "She's been utterly uncontrollable and rude lately. I do hope you find some time with her later, Mister Ababwa. I do hope she's not terribly rude to you."

"I'll manage, Mister Salton," said Al. "I'll manage."

-///

"I'm completely hopeless!" Al said, as they gathered in Gene's room following dinner. "She hates me. She hates me!"

"Al, don't be so hard on yourself," Sora said, trying to sound comforting. "Y'got all th'time in th'world to have her get t'know you."

"Yeah, but... she hates me!" Al said, tossing his hat across the room and hitting Carmen on the back; she was playing chess with Gene, and promptly shot him a glare. "I should have known better than t'chase after her. She's way outta my league!"

"Y'think you're hopeless? I can't believe this, I'm losin' to a broad," Gene said, and Carmen tossed a chess piece at his head. "Just kidding, Carmen, really!" he added quickly. "Really, Al, you just need t'be yourself. Tell her th'truth!"

"You kiddin'? I could never!" he said. "I'm just... a worthless bum, 'swhat I am. But as Ali Ababwa... I have money, I can... impress her."

"If that's really whatcha think, then go on ahead..." Gene said quietly. "Doesn't work all the time... well, if you really want to impress her, I got a fine idea."

"What is it?" said Al, and Gene began to elaborate.

-///-

After a rather fantastically-arranged date, on Gene and Carmen's behalf, Al and Jasmine returned back home soon after that, and climbed over the wall and into the garden together.

"Thank you, Ali, for such a wonderful night," she said softly, taking his hands.

"I had a good time, too," Al replied. "Goodnight, my princess."

"Sleep well, my handsome prince," she said, beginning to walk away. From behind a nearby tree, Gene stuck out his foot and caused Al to trip and reach for her, embracing her in the process. The two stood in shock for a moment, before Jasmine gave him a quick peck on the cheek; Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Gene watched from nearby with grins on their faces. They parted, and Jasmine returned to her room, giving Al one last, lingering glance.

Once she was gone, Al was bombarded by congratulatory hugs as Gene and the rest of them surrounded him.

"Way to go, Al! That was way smooth!" Sora said.

"I knew you could do it," said Gene. "So, how'd it go?"

"Well... I told her th'truth... kinda," Al said. "She definitely likes me now, I think."

"Whaddya mean, 'kinda'?" Donald asked.

"Well... nevermind, it's hard t'explain," Al said. "I'm just... wow, so excited. For the first time, things are startin' t'go right for me."

At that moment, a barrage of men in black suits appeared, rending them apart and keeping them incapacitated; Gene, however, ran away and managed to escape somewhere, leaving them helpless. Once they had been separated and gagged, Jasper Farthingstone appeared, a sour look on his face.

"You've worn out your welcome, Mister Abooboo," he said, and glanced at his men. "Have them killed, all of them; we can't have any witnesses. Make sure their bodies aren't found."

Sora began to cry as the men drew pistols and hit them each on the back of the head; Goofy began to mumble something that sounded like a prayer.

Was this the end? Was he really going to die? Would he never see his aunt again?

Riku? Kairi...?

He would never see Kairi again.

The feeling was overwhelming.

Everything went dark.

-///-

They woke up in Gene's room, the man in question worriedly watching them as they rested, Carmen waiting by the door.

"Oh, thank God!" Gene said, hugging Al as he came to. "I was really worried 'bout you, buddy."

"What happened...?" he asked, drowsy.

"I had no idea Farthingstone had Salton under his thumb," Gene said. "I couldn't be seen, but I got Carmen an' ambushed the guys that attacked you. I'm gonna have t'be extra careful from now on..."

"Gene, you... saved our lives," Al said softly, as Sora began to wake up.

"Yeah, don't mention it, really," Gene replied with a smile. "You did th'same, after all."

Sora began to cry, which woke up Donald and Goofy.

"Shut up, will ya? Oww, my head..." Donald said.

"Feelin all right, fellas?" Gene asked.

"Could be worse," Goofy said optimistically. Out of nowhere, Al sat up.

"Hey, siddown! You're not better yet," Gene said.

"I gotta make sure Jasmine's okay," he said. "That guy Farthingstone wouldn't attack us for no reason!"

Gene stood, silent for a short while, then said, "Run, kid. Run."

-///-

Jasmine was brushing her hair dreamily in her room after her romantic date with Ali, the flower he had given her placed in a vase by her mirror. She couldn't wait to tell her father that she wished to marry him; tomorrow at breakfast would be nice, perfect even!

"Jasmine?" Her father was at the door of her room. What chance!

"Oh, papa! I've had such a wonderful time!" she said, dancing across the room to him. "I'm so happy!"

"You... you should be, my dear," he replied, in an almost forced way. "I've found a... wonderful husband for you."

"...what?" Jasmine said.

"James has offered to... to marry you," he said, the door swung open to reveal the man in question, grinning wickedly.

"Father, no! I want to marry Ali, he's the one I want!" she said. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Ali has left, Jasmine, my dear," Jasper said. "He didn't care about you."

"Really, Farthingstone?" said Ali, appearing through the glass door in her room.

"Ali!" Jasmine cried, and Jasper's face contorted into one of horrified disbelief.

"Mister Salton, this man tried to have me killed!" Ali said. "He's a mafia boss!"

"What? That's ridiculous," Jasper said, and crossed over to behind Samson. "You know that's a lie, right, Samson? My name isn't Jasper Farthingstone."

"Yes... that's... he's just my financial adviser..." Samson said, a strained look on his face.

"That's a lie, and you know it!" Ali said. "Farthingstone, you've tried to kill me twice!"

"...what?" Jasper said. "I haven't-"

A storm of policemen flooded the room, grabbing Jasper and holding him at gunpoint.

"Freeze!"

"Jasper Farthingstone, you are under arrest for money laundering and the shipment of illegal materials," the chief said. "So you've been hiding out here, huh?"

"Oh goodness!" said Samson. "Thank heavens! Who called you?"

"Anonymous tip on the telephone, not long ago," said the chief. "We got here as soon as possible, sir. Are you all right, Mister Salton?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Samson. "I hope you rot in jail, James!"

As Farthingstone scowled at Samson, getting led away by the police, he saw an oddly familiar face at the glass door in the back; Holland was here? So he was behind this...

He stopped struggling and allowed himself to be carried away.

"Jasmine, are you okay?" Ali asked.

"I'm fine," she said, taking his hands, and leaning towards him in a kiss.

"Oh goodness, I felt so helpless..." Samson said, prattling on to himself and interrupting them. "For years, all this... blackmail! Forced payments! If I'd called the police, I'd never be taken seriously... a mob boss! A fake name! What a... what a...oh, goodness!"

He finally noticed Jasmine, her hands around Ali's shoulders, smiling in a way he hadn't seen her smile in a very long time. "Jasmine, is this true? Have you finally chosen a suitor?" Jasmine nodded, a happy smile on her face. "Ohh, wonderful! This is absolutely wonderful!" Samson said, laughing and taking Ali by the hands. "Oh you brilliant, clever boy! I'll make an announcement first thing tomorrow! Oh, oh, this is just wonderful! Ali, you, my boy, are going to be the next president of Salton Industries!"

"President...?" Ali said, hardly believing his ears as Jasmine snuggled against his shoulder and chest.

"Of course! Such a clever boy as you is just what my company needs!" he said.

Although Samson didn't see, continuing on in a rather lengthy speech, Ali looked rather worried.

-///-

The next morning at breakfast, Sora, Goofy, and Donald pretended to feign ignorance when Samson recounted the astounding tale of his trusted financial adviser finally getting turned in to the police, after attacking his "son-in-law-to-be," holding his daughter ransom, and doing countless other things that were hardly decipherable, as Samson was speaking so fast.

They didn't, however, have to feign any sort of emotion upon the news of Ali's engagement to Jasmine. Even Gene and Carmen, the threat of Farthingstone gone, were able to join them at breakfast and join in the happiness.

After breakfast, however, Al wasn't feeling very well. Gene came to see him, finding him standing by the window and running his fingers through his hair.

"Hey, Al! Congrats on gettin' the girl," he said.

"Yeah, thanks," Al replied half-heartedly.

"Somethin' th'matter?" Gene asked.

"Well, it's just... he wants me to take over his company someday, Gene, an' I have no idea how I'll be able t'do that!" Al said. "I don't know anything 'bout business. You're... you're gonna hafta stay around an' help me, or somethin'."

"Al, I gotta go back t'my reg'lar job," said Gene. "It's not like I can do that..."

"But... you gotta help me, Gene, I'm lost," Al said. "Please?"

Gene sighed. "I can't do this forever, Al," he said. "You should tell her the truth. If she really loves you, she won't care."

"Yeah, but..." Al began, but Gene had already walked out of the room. He sat and thought for a while, feeling awful... but Gene was right.

He stood up and left the room, to hear Samson fretting about something in the foyer, and Sora standing by and looking as distressed as him.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"It's Jasmine!" said Sora. "She's gone missing!"

-///-

"Farthingstone, I expect you to be more competent than this," Maleficent said poisonously, as she walked with him in his safehouse. "I don't want to be called every time you land in a cell."

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I had no choice," he said. "I was lucky enough that Ethan was around to take a few phone calls."

Maleficent smirked slightly. "At least we were able to get Jasmine," she said. "You've proved a valuable asset, Jasper."

"Your flattery is wonderful, Maleficent, but what of the money?" he asked. "I expect a fair share."

"We'll see," she said. "Oh, and what's this I hear about Holland returning?"

"Some trash off the street is in line with him," Jasper said. "He's responsible for my brief stay in prison. I had my eye set on him prior to your proposal, Maleficent, and I'd much like to have him with my men."

"So I see," Maleficent said. "Continue as you were, and maybe that will be possible."

"Well, of course," Jasper said, and a door opened.

"Aunt Maleficent, the girl's making a fuss," Riku said, looking at Jasper distrustfully after speaking.

"Take the gag off her mouth, if she insists," Maleficent said. "It might cool her down."

Riku nodded and disappeared, and Jasmine's muffled cries from behind the door yelled, "Finch, when my father hears about this, he'll have your head! Ali's going to come after you with the police!"

"Who is this Ali fellow?" Maleficent said.

"The common trash," Jasper replied. "He's the one that I tried to get Holland with, and now he's in this... charade. May I have a bit of fun?"

"I'd think that drunkenness would be rather detrimental," Maleficent said.

"No, no, not that sort," Jasper said, and entered the room where Jasmine was held. "Dearest Jasmine, calm down. Nobody will be coming for you."

She glared back indignantly. "My father and Ali are going to have your head..." she said.  
"You're living in a lie, dear Jasmine," he said. "That boy's name is not Ali, nor does he have a penny to his name! Alphonse Addington, a worthless piece of street trash. You know him well."

"...what?" said Jasmine. "You can't mean... the boy from the market, the... no, you can't mean it!"

"And your father is not your own. Didn't you know?" he said, each word as sharp as a knife. "You're nothing but a fortunate orphan, no better than that boy you love so dearly. Why, you're practically made for each other!"

"Jasper, you heartless pig, you've made the girl cry," Maleficent noted with an almost sweet tone to her voice, as tears began to stream down Jasmine's face.

"No matter," Jasper said. "When will we be leaving?"

"As quickly as possible," Maleficent replied, and Jasper grinned. "Riku, see that she's put to sleep. I think she's seen enough."

As Jasmine began to sob, Riku soaked a pad in some ether and held it over her face, and the girl fell limp, the tears still fresh on her face.

-///-

"I know where Farthingstone's safehouse is," Gene said, charging down the streets in one of Samson's cars, the police force following them down the street. "My last boss brought me there a few times, an' I bet you anything that he escaped an' went there."

"The nerve of him!" Al said, cracking his knuckles. "I swear I'm gonna wring that thin little neck-a his!"

"Al, 're you gonna tell Samson after all this?" Sora asked, and Al's face fell; the small man stayed at home, police guarding him as the swarm on his safehouse was conducted.

"I... I dunno," he said. "We'll see."

"It wouldn't hurt," said Goofy. "I mean, savin' 'is daughter'd be good enough f'me, I bet," he added with a smile.

"Yeah, let's just hope," he replied. The car stopped, and as the police rushed in and searched for Jasper, Gene led the way in.

"Mister Brown, we have him," one of the police said, after they had entered. Angry shouts of, "Maleficent! Maleficent, you good-for-nothing bitch! Where are you?" were heard from the upper floors.

Jasper had been confronted in his office, now handcuffed and absolutely red-faced. "Holland, I'll have your head!" he yelled.

"Shut up, will ya?" Gene said, and turned to an officer. "Have y'found Jasmine?"

"Unfortunately, she's disappeared," the man replied, and Al banged his fist on a nearby desk.

"Dammit!" he yelled, and approached Jasper, holding him up by the collar. "Where did you bring her?!"

"I don't have her, boy!" Jasper said, his shoulders jerking in an attempt to get free. "That bitch Maleficent's responsible! She had her boy drug her, and they both left!"

As soon as Sora heard the name, he ran out of the building and sat on the steps, crying a little, and Goofy quickly ran to join him and make sure he was okay.

"Why'd you take her?" Al demanded, tugging a little tougher on the collar. "C'mon, tell me!"

"She's one of those Princesses!" said Jasper, choking a slight amount. "The one in the will! Maleficent promised me some of her -- ack! -- money! Let me go, can't breathe!"

Al loosened his grip, and Jasper panted.

"Princess... that's... that's impossible," he said softly, disbelievingly.

"Anything's possible, trash," Jasper said sharply, and received a slap across the face from Al.

"Where'd Sora go?" Gene asked.

"Outside, I think," said Donald.

"We need t'regroup t'gether," Gene said. "Al, let go; Jasper's not a threat an'more."

Hesitantly, Al let go, but continued to glare at Jasper as they left. Going outside, they found Goofy sitting on the steps with his hand on Sora's back, his tears subsiding.

"Something th'matter with him?" Al asked.

"Nothin' for you t'be concerned about," Goofy said gently. "C'mon, Sora, up y'get."

Sora got up and wiped the snot away from his nose, and sniffed; a determined look graced his face. "I'm fine," he said.

"So, what's goin' on?" Goofy asked.

"It seems that woman Maleficent's responsible for some-a this," said Gene. "I know where her office is; it's in Massachusetts. I could take a train out with Carmen an' go searchin' over there for ya." Al looked forlorn, and Gene put a large hand on his shoulder. "Al, I'll do anythin' t'find her, you can be sure-a that."

"D'you think... maybe y'can look for m'friend while you're there?" Sora asked quietly, and Gene stroked his chin.

"Who?" he said.

"My friend Kairi, she got sent out east," said Sora. "She's around my age, an' she has red hair. She likes purple," he added with a nostalgic smile, and rummaged for something in his pocket; the photograph of him and Riku and her had been in there lately, even though he meant to put it back in the tin box, but he had been feeling particularly homesick lately. "She looks like this," he said, and pointed to her face.

"Really! If I see anyone, I'll ask," Gene said. "I promise. An' Jasmine, too."

Sora and Al smiled slightly, when Al suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Oh, Sora, here; I'd like you t'have this," he said, and handed a small gold bell on a chain to him. "It's a good luck charm; ring it three times, an' my ma used t'say that your guardian angel'd be watchin' over you. I think you need it more'n me, now."

Sora took it, and held it tightly. "Thanks, Al."

"You two'd best get on your way," Gene said. "Your employer's prob'ly a good while away; take the eastern road out, until y'get a word from somebody."

"Thanks for th'tip," Donald said, although a bit snarkily.

"Gene, thanks f'r all th'help," Goofy added, much more graciously.

"No problem," Gene said, and managed to give a warm smile. "I live t'make people happy."

-///-

"I knew that Farthingstone was trouble," Hades said to Maleficent as she called him from a hotel somewhere in the eastern states. "Sounds like he did a lousy job."

"He did what he was told, Hayland," Maleficent replied smoothly. "The girl is now on her way to my offices, so be prepared for a telegram from Chernobog. I simply had no more need of him."

"Ehh. S'ppose you're right about that," Hades replied. "I gotta get some sleep. Let's hope your next goon ain't a total failure, eh? Eh?"

"I assure you, he isn't," Maleficent replied, becoming slightly annoyed. "Mister Hök is a very trustworthy man."

"Sounds like a redneck t'me," Hades said, and when Maleficent was silent for a while, he quickly added, "Kidding, kidding! Oh, by the way, y'should tell that boy-a yours that we got a message about his gal. That should get the ray-of-sunshine a little excited."

"Of course," Maleficent said. "Take care, Hayland." She hung up, and looked over her shoulder to see Riku sitting on the bed n his pajamas, experimentally bouncing up and down.

"I've heard news about your friend, Kairi," she said. His eyes lit up.

"Are you serious?" he said. "What about her, is she okay?"

"She's currently well; I've heard nothing else," she replied. "Hopefully we'll know more by the time we reach my offices, if you continue to do your 'chores' well."

Riku said nothing, then looked up at her. "You're treatin' me awful nice, Aunt Maleficent, considerin' you never visit. What's the catch?" he said.

"Catch, my dear Riku?" she said, crossing the room and stroking his ashen hair with a long, smooth hand. "There is no catch; you're my favorite nephew, I'd do anything for your happiness. You should get some sleep, we've a long journey tomorrow."

Riku brushed her arm away from his head rather uncomfortably, and climbed under the sheets.

He dreamed of Kairi, sleeping in the golden grasses of home.

She had never looked so beautiful.

-///-

**Author's Notes**

long exhale  
Boy, that took a while!

This is the longest chapter to date, and I'm pretty proud of it; more than half of it was written in the past two days, due to a long weekend. Funnily enough, I spent a lot of time writing in these new pumps I bought, they're just _adorable_. minor spazz

Ahem! Anyways! I really hope it was enjoyable! I know I had a lot of fun writing it.

A rather important thing to note is that Agraba is pronounced "Uh-gray-buh" here.

I had a rather nice backstory for Carmen that didn't manage to make it in, but maybe I'll have better luck including it somewhere else. Can you guess which character she was? She's certainly not an OC.

There's a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference in here; if you can catch it, I'll be very happy.

So! Up next is Monstro. I'm not revealing anything, so you can have fun guessing what I'm doing.

I will _not_ be covering Atlantica in the KH1 arc, because I find the KH1 plot to be lacking, and the KH2 one follows the storyline. Besides, in the game, you only had to complete two of the three worlds before Neverland. It's canon!

Anyways, in updates, I'm starting on a Disney-based High School AU called "A Japanese Square in Disney," the plot of which centers around Sora, a Japanese exchange student in an American school full of Disney characters. I'm going to be working on the first chapter of that along with the Monstro chapter, so if there's Disney buffs in the audience (which I know there are) be on the lookout for it!

Thanks for the patience, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

- Rii


	7. Somewhere in Ohio

Chapter 7

Riku hated the autumn.

The chill of it that seeped into his bones, the dying trees; his father would laugh at him for complaining and wearing two sweaters when it was only November, and blame it on his mother's relatively tropical blood (her being an immigrant, after all), though Riku would sulk and stomp to the warm schoolhouse, where the extra sweaters would shed like an insect's skin.

Even as he sat in a sleek black car that belonged to his aunt, he could feel a chill in the air, despite the weather being rather warm that day. It was already late October, nearly a month since Kairi had been taken from him. He wondered where she was, a thought that had crossed his mind many times since that night in September. Where was she working? Was she making shoes, or dresses? Did she have a nice bed, wherever her dormitory was? What company did she even work for? All things he didn't know.

Things he wished he knew.

He pressed his head against the glass and sighed.

He hated the autumn.

The car unexpectedly stopped, and he looked around; Maleficent adjusted herself to get up and waited for the door to be opened.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Just a brief stop," Maleficent replied, as the chauffeur took her hand and led her out. "I've a potential business investment that's making a short stay here. You may walk around until I call for you; this won't take long."

"All right," Riku said, and got out of the car himself. An unusually warm breeze, almost like somebody's breath, washed over him, and he saw where he was; it seemed to be some kind of camp, with crude wooden houses that had massively-overpacked cars parked before them.

"A transient camp?" he said. "What're we doing here?"

"Business, my dear nephew," Maleficent said smoothly as she walked past him. "Mind you, stay near the car."

As he watched her walk away, shining black patent shoes kicking up the dust, he found a nearby tree and sat against it; it wasn't anything like the familiar tree that held his name at home, but it was vaguely comforting nonetheless, and he leaned his head against the bark. Something stirred up within his mind, his memory traveling to the night Kairi had been lost again. As his head nodded in sleep, he seemed to vaguely recall something about that night that had seemed like a copy of another night. A happier night. A night that had been filled with wonder and light and wish-making.

As he dreamed, he began to remember why he always loved the summer.

-///-

A pebble clinked on Riku's bedroom window in 1929. It was late June, he was six, and he was tired.

Another clink. Rising and rubbing his eyes, he looked out his window to see Sora, barely five, and wearing nothing but an old much-too-big nightshirt, standing in the grass beneath.

"Riku!" he called. "Riku, c'mon! I gotta show you somethin'!"

"Sora, whaddr'ya doin'?" Riku replied, rubbing his eyes. "Ih's late."

"I know, but get outta bed!" Sora insisted. "Y'gotta see this!"

"Well, whaddis it?" Riku said, getting out of the covers and opening the window to peer out of it. "Ih'd better be good, or'm gonna hit you'n th'head with a rock."

"Ih's good, I promise!" Sora said. "C'mon, climb out! You gotta go to th'tree, 'r else y'can't see it good."

Sighing, Riku climbed out of the window and joined Sora, and the two ran down the road, a strange sight to anyone that had been awake: two skinny little boys, practically nothing but arms and legs sticking out of their nightshirts and long johns as they ran down the road together. Upon reaching the tree, Riku frowned.

"I don' see nothin'," he proclaimed, and Sora pounded his bare foot on the ground.

"But it was happenin' just a bit ago!" he said.

"What was?" asked Riku.

"It looks like th'sky's fallin'!" Sora exclaimed. "I saw it from m'window an' I went t'get you cos the tree gots th'best view'v th'sky!"

"Sora, you're crazy," Riku said, beginning down the hill. "What're y'even doin' up this late? I should tell your aunt."

"Wait, Riku!" Sora said. "Wait, look! Lookit th'sky, Riku!"

Although hesitant, Riku looked up, and a streak of light was briefly visible, and he found himself grinning.

"Wouldja lookit that!" Sora declared. "See, I toldja! Look, there's 'nother!"

Riku returned to the tree and sat down, while Sora stood, as dozens upon dozens of beautiful meteors sent their trails of light across the night sky. Sora began to laugh and dance around with glee, though Riku kept himself in quiet rapture as the beautiful silver light of the falling stars shone on his face.

"Y'know, I heard Tidus say that if y'wish on a fallin' star, your wish's gonna come true," Sora said, briefly calming down, "but if y'tell anyone, it don't. Funny, huh? Why don'cha make a wish, Riku? I know I made mine."

Riku looked as another star fell, and closed his eyes, wishing with all his might.

"I wished," he said.

"Wha'dya wish for?" Sora asked.

"I thought y'said that if y'told your wish, it'll never come true," Riku replied coyly.

"Yeah, well tha's just what Tidus says," Sora replied. "He dunno nuffin'."

"I'm still not gonna tell you," Riku said with a smile.

The boys sat there and watched the stars fall until they fell no more, returning home to sleep and dream and face the wrath of their mothers and aunts when they didn't wake up until noon.

Riku swore to himself that he would never tell Sora his wish, for fear it would never come true.

The next morning, a hot morning with radios reporting spectacular displays of meteor showers, there was a great fuss in the town square; a little girl had arrived to live with the Widow Tweed's grown daughter and her husband. A girl with dark red hair and eyes like the end of a sunset, wearing a white and purple dress. Riku remembered seeing her for the first time, with her wide scared eyes, and wondering if the star had really heard his wish.

Riku liked summers.

Kairi had come with the summer.

-///-

"Sora, stop nappin'! We gotta skedaddle pretty soon!"

Sora, who had fallen asleep while lounging on the front steps of their "house," got up and scratched his head; Simba, napping on the step nearby, was scooped up into Donald's hands. "Ahh... how long was I out?" he asked.

"Good hour," Donald replied, putting Simba back down and lighting a cigarette. "Lazy brat."

"Hey!" Sora replied, pouting and picking up the kitten, who had fallen asleep again. "_You_ took a nap when we got here."

"That's cos I'm an adult an' I'm allowed," Donald said, exhaling with a smile. "When you're 35, you can nap any time y'damn well please."

"When you're not workin', that is," Goofy added with a pleasant chuckle, and Sora laughed with him. "Have good dreams, Sora?"

Sora squinted as he tried to remember what he had dreamed about. "It... was a good dream, I guess," he said. "It was about the night before I met Kairi."

"Gawrsh, what hap'nd that night?" Goofy asked. "Somethin' special?"

"The sky fell," Sora said, and laughed as Goofy looked at him confusedly, and Donald sent him a skeptical glance as he took another puff. "Well, not really," he added. "There was a meteor shower, a real bright one. Riku an' I... well, we said the sky fell th'night b'fore Kairi – ow!" A small hard thing fell on Sora's head, and he glanced up to see what it was. Donald also got hit by something, and quickly stood up, his cigarette dropping from his hand and into the dirt.

"Hey, what gives?" he said glaring at the sky; a large tree, its leaves barely turning orange and yellow, overlooked them. Another small thing, an acorn, fell towards him.

"Woah, look out!" Goofy called, shielding his head with his hands and smiling in spite of himself. "Must be a kid up there."

"Charlie! Charlie, get down from there! Oh, your father is gonna wring your little _neck_ if he sees you up up there!" a rather nervous voice called, and a somewhat older man appeared, his mouth framed by massive jowls and a sharp nose. To Sora's surprise, Donald and Goofy seemed quite pleasantly surprised to hear the voice, and smiled.

"Jiminy, 's that you?" Goofy asked, and the man stopped looking up the tree to address them; his face broke into a grin.

"Gerald, Donald!" he called, and went over to shake their hands. "How've y'been? Haven't seen you in ages!"

"Not since y'left t'go help Jeb," Donald said, before realizing something. "Wait, 's that his son up there? I heard about him in letters."

"Sure is," Jiminy replied, looking back at the three. "Charlie! Come down, boy!" He crossed his arms and tapped a cream-colored leather foot, before noticing Sora. "Oh, and who are you?"

"I'm Sora Davis," Sora replied. "Are you a friend'v Donald and Goofy?"

"One of the oldest," Jiminy replied. "The name's Jiminy. Jiminy Ricketon, it's a pleasure t'meet you, Sora." He glanced annoyedly at the tree again, as giggles and a shower of acorns fell to the ground. "Charlie, climb down!"

"What if I dun wanna?" a small voice replied.

"I'll come up there an' get you myself, an' box your ears," Jiminy replied sharply.

"All right, I'm comin', Jiminy!" the voice replied, and after a small amount of fussy noise, a little boy with black hair and a crutch slung on his back climbed out of the tree, and hobbled over on the single leg he had, the other one seemingly nonexistent from the knee-down. "Wowww... who are these people, Jiminy?" he asked.

"These are friends-a mine, Chuck," Jiminy replied. "Friends, this is Peter-Charles Petton."

"But everyone calls me Petey, or Charlie, kinda like the man with the trumpet! Right, Jiminy?" Charlie said, and Jiminy nodded. "I like Charlie more. I'm five years old, you know," he added for good measure.

"Quite an age," Goofy said with a warm smile. "Nice t'fin'lly meetcha, Charlie."

"You too!" Charlie replied. "Where's Papa?"

"Back at the house, Chuck; tha's why I came t'get you. Were you throwin' acorns at people again?" said Jiminy, and Charlie looked at the ground, leaning against his crutch.

"...I wasn't hurtin' nobody," he replied after a while.

"That's a very bad thing t'do, Charlie. What if y'did?" Jiminy asked, and Charlie continued to stare at the ground.

"I dunno," he finally said.

"Oh don't feel so bad," said Jiminy, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "C'mon, Chuck, let's go home t'your papa. You three should come too!"

"I haven't seen Jeb f'years," Goofy said thoughtfully. "I think we might have time, right, Donald?"

"I s'ppose," Donald replied, putting out his cigarette with his foot. "How's he doin', anyways?"

"Well enough, well enough," Jiminy said, leading the way down the small dirt avenue, children running past them. "Glad I could find him after that panic last year, I was awful worried."

"I'll say," said Donald. "Sales were sufferin' everywhere."

"I hope it's over, soon," said Goofy, slightly wistfully.

"Things ain't gettin' any better," said Donald, "an' I don't expect this t'be any different."

"Th'prices-a things, y'mean?" said Sora. "Some-a th'businesses at home closed down last year..."

"Damn Hoover an' his lazy..." Donald began, but crossed his arms and continued walking in silence.

"So, Jim, how's your writing going?" said Goofy. "Found any jobs?"

"Jobs? In a time like this?" said Jiminy, laughing a little. "Naw, I'm just workin' on writing m'novel until I can find a newspaper that's fin'lly hiring."

"You should come back t'Disney," said Goofy. "You was th'best reporter we ever had!"

"Ahh, that's just small pickin's," Jiminy said with a chuckle. "I'll be more famous'n Hemingway someday, you just wait'n see."

"I bet y'will, Jiminy," said Goofy. "I bet y'will."

The small group reached one of the identical wooden houses in which a beaten-up pickup truck was parked outside, a large amount of canvas-covered shapes piled in the back.

"Jeb! You'll never guess who I found wanderin' about!" Jiminy said, walking up the stairs and knocking on the wall next to the empty door-frame.

"Didja find Charlie?" an voice said from inside.

"Not just him!" said Jiminy. "C'mon out, Jeb!"

A man with snowy white hair and a mustache, glasses perched on the end of his bulbous nose, exited the house and his face lit up.

"Well, I'll be damned! Gerald, Donald, what a coincidence!" he said. "I just saw your boss but a few days ago."

"Really! Y'know where he was headed?" Donald asked.

"Somewhere in Pennsylvania for a Halloween festival or what-have-you..." Jeb said. "If y'give me enough time, I'll prolly r'member. Either way, it's so wonderful t'see you!"

"You too, Jeb!" said Goofy. "By th'way, this is Sora. Sora, this is Jebediah Petton, a ver' good ol' friend've ours."

"Nice t'meetcha!" Sora said. "Your son's a nice boy."

"Oh, was he behaving himself?" Jeb asked, as Charlie leaned a little guiltily against his crutch.

"He was throwin' acorns," Jiminy and Donald said at the same time, and Sora reached into his pocket to fetch Simba and try to cheer up Charlie.

"Oh Charlie, whatever will I do with you?" said Jeb, and Charlie looked away. "You're ev'n worse'n your mother sometimes, I swear. Sorry for th'trouble, you all."

"I wasn't makin' any trouble!" Charlie said.

"Charlie, don't lie," Jiminy said, and Charlie looked away again.

"So what're y'doin' all th'way over here'n Ohio?" Goofy asked. "Thought you was stayin' over'n Mass."

"That's on account-a my wife, actually," Jeb said, laughing a little. "That woman gives me th'most trouble, I swear, but goodness I love her so."

"Where's that wife-a yours, anyways?" Donald asked.

"Minnesota. S'where we're heading, t'tell th'truth," Jeb said. "Didn't have enough money for all've us t'move at th'same time, so she went first."

"With a mem'ry like hers?" Donald said, slightly shocked.

"Yeah, I knew she'd get lost. But y'know her," Jeb said. "Best luck've any woman I've ever met. Got taken in by a fam'ly over there. The Marlins, or somethin' like that. Poor man lost his wife, an' his son's missin' an arm too. Fortunate in a way, though; thought he'd make a good playmate for Charlie, but I can't remember his name for th'life-a me. Somethin' Latin or Spanish... Fabio? Chico?"

"Reno?" Donald suggested.

"No, that's not it," said Jeb.

"Elmo?" said Jiminy. "Nico? I remember you sayin' somethin' about this this morning..."

"I don' think that's Latin," said Donald.

"Maybe it is," said Jeb.

"What about Nemo?" Goofy continued, unattached to the argument.

"Ah! That's the one," said Jeb. "Little Nemo, like th'old cartoon. Can't wait t'introduce him t'Charlie, I think they'll like each other just fine."

"Speakin'-a Charlie... where _is_ he?" said Jiminy. The four men looked on the step and found that not only had Charlie disappeared, but Sora as well.

"Good lord, that boy's gonna be the death of us," Donald sighed.

-///-

Sora and Charlie were, at that moment, quite gleefully chasing each other through the camp, kicking up dust in the dry October air. Sora had to admit, as he ran with Simba in his arms after the boy, that Charlie could hobble along rather well, considering he only had one leg. He absently wondered why one was missing, but decided to wait to ask Charlie the question -- he had to catch up with the kid first, after all!

"Hold up, will ya?!" Sora called. "I can't run that fast!"

Charlie laughed and laughed, but soon had to catch his breath as well, and stopped to lean against a tree.

"Let's play... another... game!" he panted, and Sora laughed.

"How 'bout a quieter one? Like... Hide 'n Go Seek, maybe?" he suggested, putting Simba down. "I don't wanna run anymore."

"Me neither," Charlie said. "But, ih's no fun if 'ts jus' two people playin'. It gets boring."

"No it don't!" said Sora, but Charlie wasn't necessarily listening.

"C'mon, I'm sure someone wants-ta play w'thus," he said. "Hey, look! I'll ask this here old man, they don' mind. He's jus' sleepin'."

"Charlie, no, don't wake 'im up from his nap..." Sora began, but as he walked around the tree, he saw who exactly Charlie was in the process of waking up.

Riku stirred from his sleep as Charlie rather violently shook his shoulder with one hand.

"Hey! Hey mister! Can y'play a game w'thus?"

"Unhmm...?" Riku said. Sora took a step back, his eyes bright with anger.

"We need 'nother person t'play Hide 'n Seek w'thus, y'wanna help?" Charlie said, Riku rubbing his eyes. "Y'look awful good fr'an old man."

"Charlie, leave him alone," Sora said sternly, picking up Simba (who hadn't strayed from his feet) again.

"Aww, why not, Sora?" Charlie whined, as Riku stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. His ears pricked up at the familar name almost immediately.

"Sora...?" he said, then turning around and seeing him there.

"What're you doing here?" Sora said lowly, glowering; the kitten in his arms seemed to be curled up in fear. Was it out of fear of Riku, or Sora? Riku couldn't tell.

He glanced around, still slightly sleepy, the little boy that had woken him up gazing at him expectantly. He had wanted to play a game or something, hadn't he? "Waitin' for somebody," he finally replied, "though I might have time for a game. Whatcha wanna play again, kid?"

Charlie's paint-blue eyes lit up. "See, Sora, I toldja! Um, we wanna play Hide 'n Seek. 're you any good at it?" he asked.

Riku shrugged. "I suppose I am," he said. "Hey, Sora." Sora continued to glare. "You're _It_."

With a wicked grin, Riku grabbed Charlie around the waist and had him strung over his shoulder, and began to run.

"Hey! Hey, get back here!" Sora called. "Riku, what're you doin'?!"

"Aren't you suppos-ta sit an' count an' wait for us t'hide?" Riku yelled back, Charlie laughing and nearly obscuring his voice. Sora would have nothing of this, and placing Simba in his front pocket, began to run like hell after them.

-///-

"Stromboli, my dear, it's so good to see you," Maleficent said, brushing off her skirt as she sat on the front steps of the Italian's shack. "You seem well."

"Could-a be better, sweetheart," Stromboli said, taking a hefty bite out of his sandwich. Shreds of lettuce stuck to his beard. "Could-a be much better."

"What exactly?" Maleficent asked, folding her hands neatly on her knees. "You're referring to the reason you've called me out here in the middle of my journey home, correct?" She had received a telephone call from a secretary back in her home office -- she called at every stop she made to have all her messages directed where she was staying until she left -- saying that Stromboli, an old associate in the toy business, had sent her a telegram asking for help in something or another. After a short exchange, they had agreed to meet in a small transient camp in Ohio, for privacy and convenience of a sort.

"Yes, I need-a you to... help-a me do a little recruitin'," Stromboli said. "There's a--"

"Man on the run, here?" Maleficent finished. "Yes, yes, I remember. Who are we talking about, now?"

"Some-a guy, Jay Petto. Petton. Jebediah, I thinks," Stromboli said.

"Can't even remember his name?" Maleficent said, a bit of a scoff in her voice.

"Hey! It's-a hard-a to say!" Stromboli replied, waving his sandwich about, vegetable bits flying around. "Anyways-a, this man-a, he is-a great with-a the puppets. Beautiful designs, I've-a never seen anything-a more marvelous than his-a designs. Naturally, I want-a him in my company."

"Naturally," Maleficent replied.

"But-a he say, he say that he has-a to raise the family. I tell him that is-a no problem, he gets all-a the money he wants a-workin' for me," Stromboli replied. "He won't have-a to worry about no moneys with me. But still he say no. And I really want him workin' for me, Maleficent."

"Easy to imagine," Maleficent said. "So, what do you need me for?"

"Well, I already send two of my boys after him. Gideon, and-a Fofello. Good boys, they are, but-a very useless-a to me," he explained. "I send-a them to get Petton on my side, but-a they failed. So I come-a to you."

"Flattering to hear that you trust me to get a job done, Stromboli," Maleficent said, knitting her fingers together. "What do you have in mind?"

"He has a boy, a son," Stromboli said. "Loves him-a more than anything. Gots no leg, that kid. Getting him-a somewhere else would be... easy for you, I think?"

"Are you suggesting I kidnap and hold his son for ransom?" Maleficent said, small tones of mock outrage in her voice. "Why Stromboli, what do you take me for?"

Stroboli began to laugh a loud, hearty laugh. "Oh, you kill-a me, Maleficent. I know you are-a mocking me."

"Of course," Maleficent said. "So, is this son of his in the camp?"

"Yes, I have made-a sure of it," Stromboli replied.

"All right, then I'll have my nephew take care of it," she said. "Now, I do expect proper compensation..."

"I give-a you... something-a nice, eh?" said Stromboli, and stroked his beard. "Maybe I introduce you to my friend-a, Boogen, in-a Pennsylvania. Very rich-a guy, this-a Boogen. I think-a you like-a him."

"Sounds like a deal," Maleficent said, her eyes lighting up; she had heard of this Boogen, and was thrilled to find a connection. After all, it was downright rude to ask somebody for a deal without getting to know them at all beforehand. "Now, I'll go get--"

"Riku, you get back here!" a voice called, and she saw her nephew run past the shack like a hooligan, a little black-haired boy slung over his back. A boy missing a leg, a crutch dangling from one of his hands.

Stromboli began to laugh. "That's-a him!" he said.

"...never mind," Maleficent concluded, and called, "Riku! Come here!"

Riku stopped as he saw who called him, then backtracked and joined them at the steps. "Yeah?" he panted.

"Would you mind keeping this boy here with us?" she asked. "I was just looking for him."

"What for?" Riku asked, as the voice in the distance called "Riku, what're you doin'?"

"Just do as I say," Maleficent replied. "Would you mind coming inside with me for a moment? I'll explain."

Hesitantly, Riku placed Charlie on the steps, telling him, "This is your hiding place. Don't leave here, y'got it?" Charlie nodded eagerly, and he joined Maleficent, Stromboli following them and closing the door.

Sora arrived quickly after. "Charlie!" he said. "C'mon, let's get back t'your Pa."

"Nuh-uh!" Charlie said. "This is m'hiding place. M'supposed t'hide here."

"Just come with me!" Sora urged, but Charlie crossed his arms and stayed put. Then, Sora thought of something. "But Charlie, I'm It," he said. "I found you! Aren't you suppos' t'come w'thme?"

"Ummmm... not until you find that other guy!" Charlie decided. "Until then, m'stayin' put."

"Charlie!" Sora said again, and was about to pick him up when Riku appeared through the door and grabbed the boy around the waist before he could, glaring at Sora as he ran further into the camp. "New hiding place, Charlie!" he said.

"Yay!" said Charlie.

"Riku, what are you _doing?!_" Sora said, for what felt like the hundredth time, but couldn't complete the sentence due to the large man that was now running out of the house after Riku, who had rather effectively knocked him over.

"Get him, you idiot!" Maleficent yelled at him. "Get him and the boy!"

The Italian lumbered after Riku, who was sprinting further into the camp with Charlie on his back, who was rather surprised but still rather enjoying the recent turn of events. Sora began to run as well, but not before shooting a particularly nasty glare at Riku's aunt, who stood, panting, on the front steps of the shack. As she watched the boys run off, she regained her composure and smoothed a few errant strands of hair that had fallen into her face. No need to get excited.

It wasn't long before Stromboli had gotten to Riku and easily snatched the child from off his back. The force of his meaty hands tossing Charlie onto his broad shoulders caused him to drop his crutch, and it was then that the small boy realized that this was not a game any more.

He began to cry. Loudly. "PAPA! JIMINY-Y! HELP ME!" he wailed.

"Stupid-a kid, shut u--" Stromboli began, but was interrupted by the swift kick of Riku's leg into his stomach. Doubling over, he fell to one knee and held Charlie with one hand while he swiped at Riku with another. Then, Sora jumped on his back, which in itself was startling, but it didn't help that the sharp claws of his cat were digging into his ankle and drawing blood.

Stromboli cursed in Italian, loudly, and managed to shake the kitten off his leg, but the two boys were still on him. Riku kicked him again, this time in the left arm, while Sora jumped and reached for Charlie, and managed to get the boy into his arms.

Maleficent, watching from a good distance away, sighed and held her forehead in her hand. Imbeciles.

Stromboli caught his breath again and snatched Charlie away from Sora, holding him captive within both of his thick, hairy arms. The boy continued to cry, his face turning bright red, and his single leg kicking wildly in the air.

"Hey, Sora!" Riku called, wiping some of his ashy hair out of his face. "Jump on him, count-a three. Okay?"

Though he would have normally objected, Sora nodded, and Riku began to count.

"One... two... three!" he said, and the two of them jumped, Riku wrestling with Stromboli's left arm, and Sora with his right. Though he struggled, Stromboli gave up and his arms came free, and Charlie tumbled to the ground. Quickly, Riku grabbed the boy, hefted him into his arms, and began to run again, Sora in quick pursuit. Stromboli fell to the ground, sitting rather stupidly as he watched the boys flee, before muttering something Italian that sounded like a curse, and falling over. It always seemed that he never fought best on an empty stomach.

So his stomach emptied itself, with a disgusting sound all over the dirt.

-///-

Riku ran until he could no longer see the Italian, checking over his shoulder every now and then, even with the little boy's arms wrapped loosely around his neck, his hot tears leaking onto his pale yellow collar. Sora ran beside him, nearly as quickly -- and he found his mind wandering, of all things, to the day that Kairi had left them, again. They had been racing into town, hadn't they? For an apple. An apple, of all things.

"Riku, hey, stop!" Sora said, slowing down and resting with his hands on his knees. "I think... I think we're... we're far enough away, now."

Riku nodded and placed the little boy on the ground, who sat, because he was unable to balance on his single leg. He was sniffling loudly, now, but his tears had so far slowed.

"Charlie, you okay?" Sora asked him, and the boy nodded. So his name was Charlie, Riku thought. "Why'd you go run off with him, anyways?"

Riku stood there and pretended to catch his breath, but in actuality, he didn't know what to say. Maleficent had told him that the boy was a sort of barter token for her and the Italian (Tromboni? Riku couldn't remember his name). The next thing he knew, he was running out of the shack with Charlie in his arms. Thinking back on it, he had no real reason to do so. It wasn't like he was objected to them using the boy, and helping; he had done worse things before, like drugging that colored girl back in the city with the mob boss named Farthingstone, but...

"Riku? Hello? Riku!" Sora said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Why'd you run off with him like that?"

"...dunno," Riku replied, and looked at Charlie, who was wiping snot onto his bare arm, a few errant tears on his face. He sniffled.

"I wanna go home..." he said quietly.

Riku looked at him for a good while longer, Sora staring at him all the while, before he declared, "I'm taking him back."

"Back to his papa?" Sora said, a small grin on his face. Riku paused to think again. He had meant to say he was going to bring him back to Maleficent, but Sora's option... well, it didn't seem that bad, either. The kid was pretty shaken-up over the events of the past few minutes, and it looked like he was going to start crying again.

Still, he reasoned that, with his aunt's attitude, the boy was going to be snatched away again by that ugly old Italian again, which wasn't a very nice option at all.

"No, stupid, back to m'aunt," Riku replied.

"What?!" Sora said. "But y'just ran away from'er a few sec'nds ago! What're you thinkin'?!"

"I wanna go home!" Charlie said again.

Riku stopped and took a deep breath. "It's the... best thing t'do, Sora," he said evenly. "It's not like I wanna hurt th'kid."

"Don't wanna _hurt_ him?" Sora said, his voice quickly getting angry. "That big guy back there nearly _killed_ him!"

"I wanna go hoooome!" said Charlie, starting to cry again as he started to realize what was going on.

"He won't _kill_ him!" Riku said, turning around and facing Sora. "God, Sora, why're y'so stupid?! I don' even know why I'm ev'n botherin' t'talk w'thyou 'bout this!"

He reached to grab Charlie's arm and pick him up, but Sora slapped him on the arm, with an indignant look on his face.

Then, Riku did something that, mere months before, he never would have imagined himself doing.

He kicked Sora in the stomach. Hard.

He then grabbed Charlie as Sora doubled up on the ground, and fled while the child began to sob, Sora gasping for air.

He didn't get very far before a rediculously tall, sideburned man in a vest grabbed him by the shoulders and plucked Charlie from his arms.

Two other men were with him, both of them short, perhaps shorter than Riku himself. But while they were lacking in stature, they certainly looked mad enough to kill somebody, despite the fact that one of them was holding a kitten -- a kitten? As Riku ran as fast as his legs could take him away from them, a brief thought crossed his mind that the creature perhaps belonged to Sora. But it didn't last for long.

"That _boy!_"Jiminy yelled, shaking his fist as he began to run; they had heard Charlie crying from across the camp while looking for him and Sora, and run to find where it was coming from, getting to where they were currently. "I'm gonna get you!"

"Ease up, Jim, ease up!" Goofy said, patting Charlie on the back as he continued to cry. "Let 'im run."

"Why'n th'world should we--" Donald began, cupping Simba in his hands (they had found the poor thing wandering about, dazed, nearby -- a sure sign that Sora was in the vicinity), but Goofy hushed him.

"Wh'tmatters's that we got Charlie back safely," he said, bouncing the boy a little in an effort to calm him down. "Shh, shh, t'sokay... we're gonna take y'back t'your Pa, okay?"

No sooner had he spoken had Stromboli jumped on Goofy with an angry growl, and attempted to grab the kid. Charlie screamed, and Donald dropped Simba onto the ground (the kitten scampering to safety) as he rushed to try and get Goofy free.

"Gimme... the kid...!" Stromboli said, through gritted teeth -- Maleficent had appeared mere moments after his defeat at the hands of the two children, and essentially told him that their business ties were over if he didn't get up and finish his own job. He couldn't refuse, and couldn't fail this time!

"Go... away...!" Goofy angrily replied, sending several powerful kicks in the direction of the Italian, effectively setting him back several yards. Stromboli stood, poised for a charge in return, when...

"Take that!" Sora yelled, rushing at Stromboli and delivering a rather effective headbut to his still very, very sore stomach.

"Eughhhh..." With a groan, Stromboli clutched his stomach and toppled over, this time for good. His rather weak constitution had finally gotten the better of him, excuses due to lunches and such completely out of the question.

"Sora!" Donald yelled, as Sora gave a weak wave before toppling over himself. Jiminy and Donald went to see if he was all right, while Goofy worked on calming Charlie down again -- the attack had done nothing to soothe him, but it certainly helped that he was in familiar arms.

"Where th'hell've y'been," Donald asked, "an' what'n th'world's got you on th'ground like that?!"

"Riku... kicked... kicked me..." he said, as if the words were just beginning to sink in as he said them -- which wasn't true, of course.

"That boy?" Jiminy said, and Donald nodded. Jiminy scowled. "That _boy!_"

"Y'need carryin'?" Donald said, and Sora shook his head, but his reluctance to stand spoke otherwise. Goofy volunteered to carry him, so Charlie was passed to Jiminy's arms, and Donald once again held Simba (who had taken refuge underneath the steps of a nearby shack). It was in this manner that they arrived in front of Jeb's house, where the man had nearly begun crying out of worry when he heard his son screaming for help.

They spent the next hour or so making sure Sora was okay, which he was, although the inflamed red areas of his stomach spoke to him suffering from some very painful bruises in the near future. The bruises didn't bother him that much, though, not as much as the fact that it was _Riku_ that had given them to him.

Riku. The boy that had told jokes with him during school and lent him answers to schoolwork and tossed apples at him during lunch, and gave him money and never asked for repayment.

That Riku was gone, it seemed, replaced by this... strange, evil thing that Sora had no idea how to define. Something that wasn't Riku.

He lay in the back of the car as they packed up and left for Pennsyvania, on Jeb's words, and looked at the photograph in his tin box of him and Kairi, and the person that used to be Riku.

He wanted to rip up the picture so only he and Kairi remained, but found that even if he was careful, he'd end up taking out a piece of him or Kairi in the process, so he didn't. He ended up experimentally touching his bruises and staring at the cloth ceiling, Simba curled up by his head, until he fell asleep to the rocking of the road.

-///-

Riku had entered the camp in a bad mood, and exited it in an even worse one.

It didn't help that his aunt was angrily muttering to herself how much of a disappointment Stromboli was to her -- she had calmed down minutes afterward, convincing herself with a cool smile that he wasn't worth her time, anyways. Hearing her get over her problems was even worse, considering he was having significant troubles with his own.

He had kicked Sora. Sora, his best friend. Why he had done it was beyond him.

No, he had to do it. Sora was being an ass, he wasn't going to deny that. Sora was an ass a lot of the time. He was getting in the way.

But still... he had never done something like this to him before. _Anyone_, in fact.

It hurt, a lot, knowing this.

So, he tried to ignore it, and glared out the window as the farmland melted into more farmland, and the occasionally small town, not bothering to say a word.

A long time had passed before he finally said, "Where are we _going?"_

"The estate of a friend," Maleficent replied smoothly, as she always did -- she didn't notice he hadn't been speaking, Riku imagined. "You'll be staying there for a while, while I go finish some things at the office."

"What?!" Riku said, clenching his fists on the edge of the seat. "I thought y'said that you'd help me find Kairi!"

"And find her, I will, when the time is right," Maleficent replied, and reached into her purse for something.

"Oh, stop it, will ya?" Riku said, but Maleficent didn't notice. She took out a small mirror from her purse and looked at something on her face intently. "A promise's a promise! I've done enough for you, haven't I?"

"I'll be the judge of that, thank you," she said. He glowered, and didn't say anything again for a good while.

The mirror snapped shut, and Maleficent looked out the window; a small smile graced her tight, angular face. "Ah, we're here," she said. "Riku, we'll be getting out soon."

"I'm not gonna get out," he replied. "Not until y'promise that I can come w'thyou until we find Kairi."

"That's not a request," she said, giving him an icy glare. Riku paused for a moment, and a shiver ran down his spine. There were times when his aunt was downright terrifying, and this was definitely one of those times. The car stopped and the chauffeur arrived at the door to take Maleficent's hand, and Riku, reluctantly, followed her to a lavish home of wood.

By the looks of it, it was the property of a wealthy farmer; one whose family had lived on the land for generations, considering the architecture. At the door, a butler with a red, onion-like nose and large white sideburns greeted them with a nasally voice.

"Madam Thatch, so nice to see you," he said.

"You as well, Mister Smee," she replied. "It's been _ages_, hasn't it?"

The butler nodded eagerly, and tilted slightly to get a look at Riku. "And this is the young master we'll be housing, correct?" he said.

"I'm not planning on staying," Riku said bitterly, crossing his arms.

"Riku, don't be rude," Maleficent said. "Of course it is. My nephew, Riku."

"Your brother's son, correct? My, what an exotic name!" Smee said, clapping his hands together when Maleficent had nodded. "I'm afraid the master is out at the moment, but he should be returning by the evening. Are you going to be staying long enough to be meeting with him?"

"I'm afraid I haven't the time," Maleficent said, delicately. "Do send him my regards, however."

"I said I'm not staying!" Riku said loudly, but Maleficent didn't seem to notice.

"Mister Smee, you did get my message about who I'd like serving my nephew, did you not?" said Maleficent. "I was very specific about it."

"Oh yes, ma'am, we certainly did," said Smee, and called into the foyer, "Send the girl here, please!"

"I told you I'm not going to stay," Riku said, his voice quiet and bitter this time as he glared at Maleficent, who was smiling smugly and looking away. "You're taking me with you until we find--"

"Riku?"

He stopped for a moment. That voice. Could it really be...?

His eyes traveled from his aunt and slowly scanned the room for what seemed like forever, until they rested on a young girl dressed in a mushroom-colored dress and apron.

A girl with dusky red hair, and eyes like the end of a sunset. His wishing star girl.

"...Kairi," he concluded.

-///-

**Author's Notes**

AFTER TWO LONG MONTHS, I FINALLY UPDATE.

I'm so sorry, you guys!

I guess the combonation of me getting my wisdom teeth out in April, the distraction of my other fic projects (KH3, Zexion House, the Disney HSAU, Athena's Prodigy, just to name a few...), and just overall loss of writing spirit prevented this from getting done. But now it finally is.

I'm rather pleased with how this turned out. It's... more poetic than the last few chapters, and I'm very happy with that.

Hopefully, it won't take me so long to write the next chapter, huh? I actually held my other fics hostage as incentive to get this done -- I promised myself, "No writing on other fics until you finish chapter seven!" So I guess it worked, to some extent. Let's hope I don't have to use it again!

I'm very excited about the upcoming chapters.

It seems like the writing of this fic is sorta mirroring my own experience in playing KH1 -- I got hopelessly stuck on Monstro and let it sit for months, before just sitting down and playing and finishing it. Let's hope that I eventually finish this one, too!

On to the actual Notes.

As usual, I have my Obligatory Obscure Disney References in here.  
Stromboli, of course, but if you look closely, you may find Nemo, Marlin, and Dory.

I'll be doing loads of writing for my other fics, now, but I'll definitely get the next chapter done quicker. Halloweentown, oh joy!

Then after that, we have Neverland, and Hollow Bastion, and then we're on to Chain of Memories! Gosh, it's going by so fast!  
We'll be at KH2 before you know it.

Happy reading, happy reviewing, and I'll see you all next time!

Thank you for your patience!

- Rii


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